Alessandra Contin * is at ITWeek as moderator of the debate on metaverse and Nft in gaming. September 29th at 4:10 pm, in the Duomo
Christoph Hartmann, boss of Amazon Games, thinks that in the long run we will see a videogame world paved with corpses, with fewer and fewer independent operators. A few hours after his statements, the Chinese Tencent Holdings Limited, the largest video game dealer in the world, has acquired 49.9% of Ubisoft, investing 300 million euros and ensuring the possibility to bring important titles of the ‘ French company (among its series Assassin’s Creed, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Far Cry and Just Dance). Meanwhile, Sony CEO Jim Ryan and Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Gaming, were discussing animatedly about the future of the Call of Duty series. Breaking Sony’s proverbial confidentiality, Ryan has attacked rivals, defining the deal proposed by Spencer, which plans to leave the series on PlayStation for just 3 years after the existing agreements expire, utterly inadequate.
This compulsive shopping, with billions of dollars in acquisitions, begins to show its effects, heating up the minds, not just of the fans. Yet it is at this moment that our gaze should turn elsewhere. As in cinema and music, galaxies are also forming in the video game industry. Studios bought by big groups risk developing the same kind of titles indefinitely. Do you play racing games well? You will do them forever. A curse that, however, gives the possibility to studios, game designers and independent publishers to create innovative products, outside the logic of the market, even experimental. According to a recent report from Newzoo, the video game industry is about to exceed $ 200 billion in revenue this year, involving 3.09 billion players.
Almost half of the planet’s population plays and does it at all hours, on every type of platform, with different economic resources and sensitivities. And he doesn’t just play Call of Duty. Some indie titles have recently aroused the interest of the general public. The most striking case was Stray, starring a cat. Published by Annapurna Interactive, in July it was the best-selling video game on PlayStation 4 and 5, beating GTA V and F1 22. There are indie productions capable of playing in a league of their own. Like Immortality, created by game designer Sam Barlow, formerly responsible for acclaimed works like Her Story. A very particular game, outside the classic definition of video game, which is enjoying considerable success with critics and audiences. The market at this time can also create unicorns, such as Vampire Survivors, made by Luca Galante, which has not only become a phenomenon on Steam, but has given birth to a new videogame sub-genre. Hartmann predicts a future of big conglomerates dominating the industry, but looking at it with less emotion and a little romance, the landscape could be different. Three billion people can secure their slice of gamers to the independents: nostalgic waiting for titles like Return to Monkey Island, daring who want to get their hands on Pentiment, environmentalists ready to dive into the depths of Under the Waves …