Layoffs have become a persistent issue in the gaming industry since 2022, and despite a potential slowdown in their frequency, their severity has not diminished. Major companies like Microsoft have undertaken significant staff reductions, with further cuts promised. These industry-wide economic pressures, including rising debt, a cost of living crisis, and increased production costs, necessitate a reevaluation of future strategies for large game studios.
Saber Interactive's Chief Creative Officer, Tim Willits, believes that many large, traditional studios make a critical error by maintaining large teams of expensive employees long before a game reaches a playable state. He suggests that having 200 individuals working on a project before a vertical slice is developed is an inefficient use of resources, leading to substantial financial drain. While large, highly skilled teams are essential for full production, the period after a game ships and before the next major project is ready can leave studios spending millions monthly without immediate returns.
This approach echoes instances where studios have disbanded teams shortly before or after a game's release, leading to a loss of institutional knowledge and the need to rebuild talent from scratch for subsequent projects. Willits advocates for a more flexible model, suggesting that studios that have produced major hits should consider undertaking work-for-hire or smaller projects to supplement income and keep operations running smoothly. He notes that Saber Interactive, even while working on major titles like Space Marine 2 and John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, continues to engage in remaster work and original smaller-scale games, which helps sustain the company.
"If you are a studio that has made mega hits, but it takes you five years to make a mega hit, it is totally okay if you do some work for hire," Willits stated. "It doesn't make your mega hit AAA game any worse. If you have five or six things that help keep the lights on, it's totally okay. I would love to see one of these super studios do some fun side projects. There's nothing wrong with that."
Saber's strategy involves keeping original game teams small in the early stages, even down to five people, and expanding only after a vertical slice is achieved. The company also utilizes co-investment or co-funding partnerships. Willits also proposes that large studios could emulate the success of smaller, independent teams by developing multiple smaller, lower-cost games. "There's a number of games on Steam that are super fun, that are literally five bucks. They're made with ten guys. Do that. Why can't a mega studio from Santa Monica make six of those? One could be a hit."
Willits believes that even experienced teams laid off from larger studios could find success by focusing on smaller, quicker development cycles. He points to the success of the Snowrunner franchise, which originated from a single developer's idea. "I truly believe that if you look at some of the people that have lost their jobs in big studios in America... if you were to take all those people and say, 'Okay, you guys are in charge of making five games that cost $5 and you gotta get it done in three months, one or two of those games would be hits.'"
Beyond internal diversification, Willits suggests that established studios can also look globally for development partners. He encourages North American and British publishers to overcome their hesitations about working with studios in regions like South America, emphasizing co-development and split teams as viable strategies. "Traditional North American and even British publishers are afraid of certain parts of the world. They're afraid of South America. They're like 'We don't speak Spanish or Portuguese'. Get over that and stop that fear."
Saber Interactive's willingness to work across different scales and geographies, without the ego often associated with large studios, positions them as a model for financial resilience in the current industry climate. While many studios start with work-for-hire or remasters, a significant number abandon these practices once they achieve a certain scale. Willits argues that an industry where studios maintain stability through a mix of large projects and smaller, supporting work could be more secure overall.