2019 in video games: Deck13's Jan Klose on The Surge 2, cloud gaming, and subscriptions
The Surge 2 from Deck13 became one of this year’s top releases on Steam. With 2019 almost over, Jan Klose, co-founder and managing director at Deck13, as well creative director on The Surge 2, reflects on the achievements of the year and what lies ahead.
Jan Klose, co-founder and managing director at Deck13,
creative director on The Surge 2
How was 2019 for Deck13?
It was a very exciting year because we finally released The Surge 2, the biggest game we have ever made. Also, it received great reviews and we’re very happy that so many players around the world enjoyed the game.
The Surge 2
What events or developments in the global gaming industry do you consider the most important in 2019?
I think the most important developments lie ahead of us with the industry taking first steps into the game streaming market and also with the new console generation on the horizon. This means more performance for developers resulting in new and exciting content, but all in all, streaming might prove to be the biggest game changer, as soon as the data transfer infrastructure catches up.
What are the main market trends today?
I think that it’s a great time for gamers because all the big players and platform holders, bringing their new games subscriptions to market, are looking for new and creative IPs. They will surely finance some great new games and the choice, also for core gamers, will surely get bigger. The downside may be that in order to enjoy all that cool content, gamers might need to subscribe to more than one or two services.
Which game releases would you say were the most important in 2019? And what games did you personally, as a gamer, spend the most time playing in 2019?
Having directed The Surge 2 at Deck13 for two years, I didn’t have as much time playing games as I would have liked to. But I did quite some catching up enjoying the games releases from past year, including Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World, and the new God of War.