Leaders Lament Lost Creativity at Game Developers Show
An exhibitor demonstrates with a motion-capture device during the 2024 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on March 20.
Photographer: Andrea Chen/Xinhua News Agency/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Designers of some the top-selling video games in the world gathered this week in San Francisco but the mood at this year’s Game Developers Conference was at times dour.
Game companies have been coping with layoffs, mergers and product cancellations. And while 2023 delivered some huge hits, many executives roaming the Moscone Center said rising development costs, slow growth and the pressure to deliver winners has led to a play-it-safe approach at the biggest companies, taking some of the edginess out of the industry.