High on Life 2 Narrative Director: Video Game Industry Needs to Nurture Studios Like Nintendo Does

High on Life 2 Narrative Director Alec Robbins, joined the Theory Unlocked podcast this week, and we wanted to get his thoughts on what needs to change in the video game industry that seems to make headlines, and for the wrong reasons, almost weekly. Shawn Layton told us last week he felt we were headed for a fork in the road. Make sure you check out Ep 1 of Theory Unlocked with Shawn if you have not already.

Alec said one of the big issues is that companies are not allowed to grow and nurture under the umbrella of big studios, and often are punished if their first game does not immediately hit. Alec pointed out how Nintendo, who he said does the best of the big 3 at nurturing companies, allowed a studio like Grezzo to start with small-scale remakes of The Legend of Zelda.

Grezzo helped develop a trio of Zelda titles as ports for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DSi, before Nintendo eventually allowed them to create new Zelda games. Since then, Grezzo has produced The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Alec pointed out how Squanch games, as an independent studio, does not have to take direction from any parent company as an independent studio, and while they still have to focus on having strong releases, they are not at the whim of studio executives.

Robbins also pointed out that the post-COVID bubble is still coming down. While he does not think it has popped, sales and profits are simply returning to pre-2020 levels, and causing studios that might have overhired to realize that the profit wave is stopping. He also said some studios will overhire for games, knowing that even if a game is successful on launch, see Battlefield 6, layoffs have to happen because the studios cannot maintain that many staff. Pointing out that Squanch games were prepping for High on Life 2 capped their studios at a number they knew was sustainable into the future.

What do you think of Alec’s assessment of the gaming industry? Do you think the mass waves of layoffs are just an adjustment to sales falling back to 2019 numbers or is it something more?