Balatro and Hollow Knight: Silksong “shouldn’t exist,” according to industry analyst Joost van Dreunen. He elaborated that, “They don’t make rational sense financially, and yet somehow they are deeply loved.” Their commercial viability is an undeniable fact. However, the scale of their success baffles industry conventional wisdom.

Van Drunen is professor at the NYU Stern School of Business and a strategic advisor for the community development agency ELO. In an interview with GameIndustry.biz, van Dreunen discussed how the shifting macroeconomics of video games is creating space for smaller projects to become massive successes. He compares the shift to the way television challenged the Hollywood business model. Free-to-play games like Candy Crush compete with, and even undermine, big-budget blockbusters like GTA or Call of Duty. Yet, there are an increasing number of games that skirt outside either model, such as Silksong.

The lower-tech production values of some indie games may also be a big asset. Van Dreunen said, “I’m a big fan of the idea that low tech is a much more interesting design factor than high tech. I think, demonstrably, whenever new technology comes out, what studios tend to do is just increase the final product. They make it more complex, and therefore they negate the productivity gains.” Perhaps Balatro and Silksong can be impressive with smaller budgets and development teams because they leverage the productivity shifts bigger studios would use to expand their efforts.

Continue Reading at GameSpot Balatro and Hollow Knight: Silksong “shouldn’t exist,” according to industry analyst Joost van Dreunen. He elaborated that, “They don’t make rational sense financially, and yet somehow they are deeply loved.” Their commercial viability is an undeniable fact. However, the scale of their success baffles industry conventional wisdom.Van Drunen is professor at the NYU Stern School of Business and a strategic advisor for the community development agency ELO. In an interview with GameIndustry.biz, van Dreunen discussed how the shifting macroeconomics of video games is creating space for smaller projects to become massive successes. He compares the shift to the way television challenged the Hollywood business model. Free-to-play games like Candy Crush compete with, and even undermine, big-budget blockbusters like GTA or Call of Duty. Yet, there are an increasing number of games that skirt outside either model, such as Silksong.The lower-tech production values of some indie games may also be a big asset. Van Dreunen said, “I’m a big fan of the idea that low tech is a much more interesting design factor than high tech. I think, demonstrably, whenever new technology comes out, what studios tend to do is just increase the final product. They make it more complex, and therefore they negate the productivity gains.” Perhaps Balatro and Silksong can be impressive with smaller budgets and development teams because they leverage the productivity shifts bigger studios would use to expand their efforts.Continue Reading at GameSpot  Read MoreGameSpot – All Content