Former God of War director of product development Meghan Morgan Juinio has said that blockbuster games with huge budgets are "not really sustainable in terms of the cost of development," urging publishers to shift their focus toward games that prioritize a fun gaming experience.

The details:

Speaking with PCGamer at Gamescom Asia x Thailand Games Show, Juinio shared that she believes the gaming industry's current approach to development is unsustainable due to high costs with diminishing returns, leading to an uptick in layoffs, even at major studios. "I think it's already not really sustainable in terms of the cost of development," Juinio said. "There's been a ton of layoffs, and a lot of that is focused on the West Coast of the US, and it's clearly because the minimum costs are so high. Development costs will necessitate that the big publishers create [new] pathways.”
However, the exec clarified that big budget games, such as the God of War series, will not be going anywhere, explaining that we’ll likely see some smaller titles from big publishers in the future. When asked about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and the indie hit PEAK, Juinio provided some insight into what may have led to their success among the AAA giants. "I think what it comes back to," Juinio said, "is just make something fun. Just make something awesome, and that will achieve what you need it to achieve."
The former executive emphasized that games need to prioritize fun over visual spectacle, stating, "If it's not fun, it's not worth the investment, whether that's two million dollars or 500 million dollars," and questioned how the industry can "go back to building solid games that are really fun to play" rather than focusing solely on cutting-edge graphics and lengthy playtimes.

Former God of War exec says blockbuster games are "not really sustainable"