The coronavirus pandemic is putting indie developers in an even tougher spot - pc gamer interviews indie devs

[Armadilo]

Article with a lot more on topic

pc gamer interviews various Indie Devs

Chris Wright had spent years getting ready to go all-in on developing his own game. He'd saved up while working as a software engineer and test manager at places like Blizzard and Bungie until late last year, when he planned to launch his own studio called Poorly Timed Games. But the global coronavirus pandemic would add an unexpected new meaning to his studio's name. Wright's plans were about to change drastically.

"The previous model of building a demo and then looking for a publisher is scary for a lot of folks now," Wright tells me. "Since there's no telling if there will be money available in six or nine months, I've heard it may be much harder to get funding." Wright had been hoping to bring on more contractors and find a publisher soon, but that all seems to be a quickly evaporating dream. As the coronavirus epidemic continues to grow, Wright isn't the only indie developer worried about the future.

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Despite that huge surge in players staying home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, game developers all over the world are worried about their projects and studios. Several indie developers I've spoken to, especially ones who are earlier in their independent careers or trying to start a new project, are struggling to find funding and plan for the future.

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excerpt from another dev

Rushdy empathizes that the sudden stop in communication could be from companies rushing to work from home, many of whom may have not been prepared for a sudden change. He and other developers I spoke to believe the industry will benefit in the short term from higher game sales, but the outbreak could have a worse impact later this year.

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"It's going to be incredibly divisive, some groups will get huge profits and some groups will lose everything," Typhoon Studios founder Alex Hutchinson says. "If you have [games already out] to lean on, you may do well because everyone is locked in their houses for entertainment. If you were on the edge, this is going to sink you. It's going to sink a lot of people."

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Indie Devs will be the one's to lose the most during these hard times in the Games Industry

 

[nsilvias]

everyone that isnt a big corporation is fucked rite now.
tons of independent creators and small businesses are going to go out of business and it will take years for it to recover

 

[Ebtesam]

everyone that isnt a big corporation is fucked rite now

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.

 

[eonden]

Yeah, the recession will hit indie developers like a jackhammer as a ton less peopel will have money to buy games (which are sadly a "luxury").

 

[Sinatar]

Yea the pandemic is fucking over pretty much *everyone*.

 

[Feep]

Yeah, the recession will hit indie developers like a jackhammer as a ton less peopel will have money to buy games (which are sadly a "luxury").

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This isn't quite accurate. Entertainment in general is reasonably recession resistant; people will always spend income, tough times or not, on things to let them escape from the woes of daily life. And especially now, when so many forms of entertainment aren't available, I expect from an industry perspective, games are doing quite well.

However, indies themselves may have extreme trouble procuring a partner, because like all investments, that game development is a risk...something publishers rarely do in times of uncertainty. Larger, established studios and IPs might be okay, but indie games that require funding are in more dire straits.

 

[Armadilo]

This isn't quite accurate. Entertainment in general is reasonably recession resistant; people will always spend income, tough times or not, on things to let them escape from the woes of daily life. And especially now, when so many forms of entertainment aren't available, I expect from an industry perspective, games are doing quite well.

However, indies themselves may have extreme trouble procuring a partner, because like all investments, that game development is a risk...something publishers rarely do in times of uncertainty. Larger, established studios and IPs might be okay, but indie games that require funding are in more dire straits.

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I read recently that some film studios are taking out loans, in the Billions to make sure that they are able to overcome any hurdle that might be coming in the near future.

I would imagine that big publishers are doing the same even in the gaming industry.

Scary times for an indie developer, especially to having E3 cancelled and similar event shows that are huge to show of their games.

 

[eonden]

This isn't quite accurate. Entertainment in general is reasonably recession resistant; people will always spend income, tough times or not, on things to let them escape from the woes of daily life. And especially now, when so many forms of entertainment aren't available, I expect from an industry perspective, games are doing quite well.

However, indies themselves may have extreme trouble procuring a partner, because like all investments, that game development is a risk...something publishers rarely do in times of uncertainty. Larger, established studios and IPs might be okay, but indie games that require funding are in more dire straits.

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I mean, I said later on, as you (and the article) point out in the short term there will be more sales as gaming is one of the few available ways of entertainment left.

About videogames being "recession resistant" I know it is based on previous recessions not affecting videogames in general, but since then, the rise of "longer life games" (such as gaas / f2p) might affect sales of paying games as more money is funneled into more "bang for your buck" game during recession.

 

[riverfr0zen]

It seems like the core issue is uncertainty with publishers for funding. I understand nothing happens through magic, but does this situation say something about the direction of the indie scene has taken, where there is a dependence on publishers that kind of seems to take away the "independent" from "indie games"? I'm not criticizing anyone here -- just wonder if maybe that direction in general was perhaps not the best way for the scene to have evolved. Perhaps this outcome might reset the scene a little and let models evolve that express or allow for a greater degree of independence?

(Please take the above with a grain of salt as I'm not an indie developer and just an onlooker).