Navigating the Turbulent Tides of the Gaming Industry: Insights from a Veteran LeaderThe gaming industry has faced a tumultuous year, marked by record layoffs, studio closures, and high-profile game cancellations. However, industry veteran Mike Morhaime, the former president of Blizzard Entertainment, offers a balanced perspective on the current state of the industry and the future prospects for aspiring game developers.

Weathering the Storm: Navigating the Ebb and Flow of the Gaming Landscape

Addressing the Challenges: Overinvestment and Industry Adjustments

Morhaime acknowledges that the industry has experienced a period of overinvestment, leading to the current adjustments. However, he emphasizes that this is not an indication of any fundamental issues with the gaming business. Instead, he believes the industry is still poised for continued growth, albeit at a pace that may not have met the initial expectations.The COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role in this dynamic, as it led to a surge in gaming activity that was not sustained at the same level. Morhaime explains, "With the [COVID-19] pandemic, there was a bit of a leap forward, and that didn't get extrapolated forward the way that many people thought it would. It adjusted back to the curve that it was on before, but it's still growing."

Maintaining Dominance: The Enduring Importance of Top-Performing Games

Despite the industry's challenges, Morhaime emphasizes that the gaming landscape remains highly competitive. He notes that the top-performing games continue to account for the bulk of the industry's profits, a trend that has persisted for a long time."It's still a very competitive industry. And so, I think that the top games are still responsible for the bulk of the profit, but that has been the case for a really long time," Morhaime explains. He underscores the importance of creating games that can captivate audiences and rise above the noise in the crowded market.

Embracing Experience: The Advantages of Veteran Game Developers

Morhaime's own journey from co-founding Blizzard to launching his new venture, Dreamhaven, highlights the value of experience in the gaming industry. Unlike Blizzard's humble beginnings, Dreamhaven benefits from the collective expertise of its leadership team and contributors, many of whom have extensive backgrounds in the industry."The biggest difference is the amount of experience that the Dreamhaven leadership has, and even all the super talented contributors on these projects. These are really talented, experienced game makers. And our central team also was built with people who have a ton of experience. And so, we're able to take all that experience from all of our collective past and apply it to what we're doing here," Morhaime explains.

Navigating the Pandemic: Adapting to the Challenges of Remote Work

The launch of Dreamhaven coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting additional challenges for the new venture. Chris Sigaty, the studio head of Secret Door, one of Dreamhaven's internal game studios, recalls the initial excitement being quickly tempered by the sudden shift to remote work."We were all high-fiving like, 'here we go!, we're going to start and we're going to have the studios! We're going to start —' and then boom, COVID hit," Sigaty recounts. "We announced our company in September of 2020, but we had actually formed right at the end of 2019, beginning of 2020. And so, then COVID hit and that changed everything."Despite the challenges, the team at Secret Door remained focused on their first game, leveraging the support and resources provided by Dreamhaven to navigate the transition to remote work.

Embracing Collaboration: Fostering a Positive Game Development Environment

In contrast to their previous experiences in the industry, the team at Secret Door has made a conscious decision to focus on collaborative games rather than competitive ones. Erin Marek, the game director at Secret Door, explains that this shift aligns with the team's personal passions and desire to create games that bring people together in a positive way."When we set out at the founding of the studio to talk about what we wanted to build, one of the big things we made a decision on very early was, we didn't want to start by making a competitive game," Sigaty says. "We wanted our passions to push forward. Specifically, we wanted to focus on collaborative games."Marek's background in competitive, esports-focused games has provided valuable insights into fostering a positive game development environment, which she aims to apply to Secret Door's collaborative game projects.

Diversifying the Portfolio: Dreamhaven's Publishing Efforts

While Secret Door focuses on developing its first collaborative game, Dreamhaven is also fulfilling its role as a publisher. The company has announced that it will bring Lynked: Banner of the Spark to market, developed by the outside studio FuzzyBot.This diversification of Dreamhaven's activities, both as a developer and a publisher, reflects the company's commitment to supporting a range of game projects and fostering a thriving ecosystem within the industry.

Embracing the Future: The Bright Prospects of the Gaming Industry

Despite the challenges faced by the gaming industry, Morhaime remains optimistic about the future. He believes that the industry has reached a level of mass market appeal, with more gamers playing and consuming games than ever before."I think there's probably more gamers playing games and consuming games at this time than there has been at any other point in history," Morhaime says. "And I think the future is really bright for games as a popular pastime. I think we've reached a mass market. We've dreamed about it for a really long time, and I think we're there."With the wealth of experience and talent within Dreamhaven and its internal studios, the company is well-positioned to navigate the industry's turbulent waters and contribute to the continued growth and evolution of the gaming landscape.