alt Hacker NewsIt looks like their business model is mostly just remakes and remasters now with these closures. Does the C suite really believe that they can just milk those IPs forever and never create anything new?
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Large gaming companies, like a lot of other big companies, are extremely risk adverse. Instead of creating new things, they innovate by buying companies that have done the hard work of innovating or creating new IP.
The creators and innovators in those acquired companies usually burn out from trying to work in a large, stifling corporate environment, and leave. So the large corporations are left with people who are not creators and innovators.
Given that the cancelled PoP title in question was supposed to be a remake of PoP: The Sands of Time, it would seem that not even remakes/remasters can save them now.
> those IPs forever and never create anything new?
By putting some loot boxes and mobile purchases out there. Yes.
> It looks like their business model is mostly just remakes and remasters now with these closures. Does the C suite really believe that they can just milk those IPs forever and never create anything new?
It only needs to work until they're on to their next job.
This is the business model for most of the large gaming companies at this point.
Activision had three or four studios dedicated to Call of Duty leapfrogging each other to release one every year. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty)
Their last (2022, pre-acquisition) annual reports literally spell that out.
> For example, in 2022, revenues associated with our three franchises—Call of Duty, Warcraft, and Candy Crush —collectively accounted for approximately 79% of our net revenues—and a significantly higher percentage of our operating income. We expect that a relatively limited number of popular franchises will continue to produce a disproportionately high percentage of our revenues and profits. - https://investor.activision.com/annual-reports