Saber Interactive CCO Calls North American Game Development Costs Unsustainable

Saber Interactive Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits recently addressed the financial challenges facing the video game industry, specifically pointing out that North American game development has become too costly. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Willits discussed Saber Interactive's strategy of favoring controlled budgets, global teams, and multiple bets through AA development rather than relying on expensive blockbuster titles.

Willits compared the financial risk of massive studios to slate financing used in the movie industry, noting that spreading resources across four or five games allows companies to absorb losses if some titles fail while others succeed. He emphasized the importance of keeping scope and development in check, stating that big North American development studios often run a monthly burn rate of over two million dollars. As an example, he mentioned that SnowRunner cost six million dollars to make, which equals about three months of development time in California despite generating hundreds of millions of dollars.