My time and energy spent on cutting edge, AAA gaming has plateaued. Four years into a console generation, the graphics, audio, and gameplay of most games I play are indistinguishable from the experience six years ago. Over 2024, I only spent a fraction of my gaming time with Hellblade II and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the two games that taxed my Xbox Series X this year. The rest of my play has been with small indie games (e.g., Balatro, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Star Trucker) or evergreen GAAS like Fortnite and EA FC that are generally playable on 2013-era console hardware, my aging MacBook Air, or even my smartphone.
I used to rationalize my shift away from tech heavy gaming as a personal outlier. As my tastes moved from mega AAA twitch action games and RPGs toward the quirkier indie space, my hardware needs lessened accordingly. Alternatively, one could argue high end hardware is “held back” by many new games still releasing on last gen consoles. But the more I look, the more I suspect I’m part of a trend towards smaller, less graphically intense games derived from indie studios.
When I listen to enthusiast gaming podcasts, among a crowd that may play hundreds of games a year and spends thousands on gaming hardware, the conversation focuses heavily on the PC indie space (e.g., Lethal Company, Phasmophobia) and small niche titles on the console. Across Reddit, ResetEra, and other gaming-focused social media, discussion for a tiny retro poker strategy game like Balatro may run as long as a big budget Black Myth: Wukong or Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Moving beyond enthusiast circles, the Nintendo Switch is the biggest runaway gaming success story of the past decade, winning over casual gamers and hardcore Nintendo devotees alike, even with underpowered technology that lags behind the previous generation’s PS4 and Xbox One. As of August 2024, Nintendo sold over 143 million Switches, making it the third best selling console of all time. The Switch’s “last gen” first party games are critical and financial hits, with OpenCritic scores regularly in the nineties and unit sales in the tens of millions. The upcoming Switch 2 will likely reach adoption numbers any other hardware manufacturer, be it on console or PC, could only dream of, even with rumored technical capabilities years behind rival hardware from Sony and Microsoft.
Furthermore, market research firm Circana notes that many gamers are shifting their attention from consoles to more easily accessible (lower end, less gaming focused) PC and mobile devices. It’s a macro trend emphasizing casual, bite sized, and less tech dependent gaming experiences.
Of course, the rise of mobile gaming, the Switch doing gangbusters, and enthusiast circles going wild for retro indie titles doesn’t mean AAA gaming is over. Gamers will always spend thousands on GPUs to satiate ever-growing performance needs on select games, especially in the simulation market (e.g., car racing, Flight Simulator). Several games – Grand Theft Auto VI, Ghost of Tsushima 2, the next Elder Scrolls RPG – will sell in massive quantities while likely setting new technological standards.
However, the macro trends are clear: more studios will benefit from following the lead of Nintendo and indie publishers and diversifying beyond high end blockbusters. For the hundred million dollars it may cost to develop and market another narrative-driven action adventure or game as a service multiplayer shooter, a mega publisher like Sony or Microsoft could make multiple smaller games across various genres. Admittedly, small games rarely generate more than modest financial success nor prop up the brand like a God of War will. But smaller games also can’t manifest into bombs like Concord or Redfall that tarnish an entire ecosystem. Their softer tech requirements also make porting across a wide range of platforms easy, from PC to console to mobile. Meet the player on their terms, gain a new audience, and profit. We all benefit in the process.