Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I don't think the western gaming industry will ever improve, not just because they don't want to improve, but because they can't afford to improve. All of them are in survival mode these days. They are laying people off. They are closing studios. They save costs by removing what defined them since their inception. They are restructuring their bases. It's like expecting an injured victim to become an athlete. Not right now, you don't, and this injured victim crashed their own car while drunk driving. So, I don't feel that much sympathy.
The western industry has implemented many of the modern gaming monetization schemes that the eastern industry has. The problem is they don't have a good game to build that foundation upon. Western games make the monetization scheme first before they make the actual games good. Say what you want about the gameplay of the average mobile games. At least they're free. The gameplay might not be the deepest or most invigorating, but at least they're free.
Western games expect a massive premium upfront cash for games that are either the same as their predecessors or worse. You get mediocre and uninspiring games that you have to pay a premium for that just so happen to have an elaborate monetization scheme. People don't stick for those, but people do stick for games, and if your games are mediocre, they won't stick.
There are some survivors in this business. The sports game companies, EA and 2K, still survive because they do not require major innovations, and they still have a loyal fanbase of sports fans, players, and whales that will continue to buy their games every year and contribute on their gambling mechanics and ecosystem. Even then, EA being bought by Saudi Arabia and recently laying people off is not a good look. Like I said. Survival mode.
There's also Rockstar with GTA Online. They don't need to make entirely new games. They can just build upon the game that they already have, and it makes GTA V survive for more than a decade. Even Riot still has loyal League of Legends and Valorant players. They already made the game. The foundation is good enough for most people, and they just build upon it year after year. That's why many gacha games survive. They don't make new games. They just build upon what already existed, but they have a good foundation to begin with, one that people always come back to.
The same cannot be said to other yearly cash cows like Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed because they release new games every year. They require way bigger budgets, way more innovations for every entry, way more time to develop, and way bigger barrier of entry for people. It's a massive waste of money, and they wonder why they're losing profits.
I don't think the western gaming industry will ever improve, not just because they don't want to improve, but because they can't afford to improve. All of them are in survival mode these days. They are laying people off. They are closing studios. They save costs by removing what defined them since their inception. They are restructuring their bases. It's like expecting an injured victim to become an athlete. Not right now, you don't, and this injured victim crashed their own car while drunk driving. So, I don't feel that much sympathy.
The western industry has implemented many of the modern gaming monetization schemes that the eastern industry has. The problem is they don't have a good game to build that foundation upon. Western games make the monetization scheme first before they make the actual games good. Say what you want about the gameplay of the average mobile games. At least they're free. The gameplay might not be the deepest or most invigorating, but at least they're free.
Western games expect a massive premium upfront cash for games that are either the same as their predecessors or worse. You get mediocre and uninspiring games that you have to pay a premium for that just so happen to have an elaborate monetization scheme. People don't stick for those, but people do stick for games, and if your games are mediocre, they won't stick.
There are some survivors in this business. The sports game companies, EA and 2K, still survive because they do not require major innovations, and they still have a loyal fanbase of sports fans, players, and whales that will continue to buy their games every year and contribute on their gambling mechanics and ecosystem. Even then, EA being bought by Saudi Arabia and recently laying people off is not a good look. Like I said. Survival mode.
There's also Rockstar with GTA Online. They don't need to make entirely new games. They can just build upon the game that they already have, and it makes GTA V survive for more than a decade. Even Riot still has loyal League of Legends and Valorant players. They already made the game. The foundation is good enough for most people, and they just build upon it year after year. That's why many gacha games survive. They don't make new games. They just build upon what already existed, but they have a good foundation to begin with, one that people always come back to.
The same cannot be said to other yearly cash cows like Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed because they release new games every year. They require way bigger budgets, way more innovations for every entry, way more time to develop, and way bigger barrier of entry for people. It's a massive waste of money, and they wonder why they're losing profits.
