Weekend Highlights (January 11-12)

The start of the first season led to a record number of online players for Marvel Rivals on Steam. Jason Schreier believes that game budgets are growing largely due to inefficient management. The Russian Duma chairperson stated that Russia does not plan to completely ban video games. We report on the main events in the gaming industry over the past weekend.

Marvel Rivals

• Marvel Rivals kicked off its first season, adding new cards and characters to the game. This superhero action game set a new record for concurrent players on Steam. On Saturday, January 11, the maximum number of concurrent players in the Steam version of Marvel Rivals reached 644,269 people. Thanks to the hype, Marvel Rivals now ranks 14th in peak concurrent players in Steam history, right after Goose Goose Duck (702,845 people) and Baldur’s Gate 3 (875,343 people), surpassing games like Apex Legends (624,473 people) and Path of Exile 2 (578,569 people).
• Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier investigated why the budgets of modern AAA games have reached astronomical figures. In his opinion, the cost has increased not so much due to the pursuit of increasingly high-quality graphics, but because of the longer development time, the growth of team sizes, and inefficient management. This last issue particularly concerns Schreier. He notes that in trying to keep up with trends, studio management often makes poor decisions and lacks a clear creative vision. “A typical example these days is assigning a team with years of experience in single-player games to develop a multiplayer live service game,” writes Schreier. According to the journalist, anyone who has worked in the gaming industry for a decent amount of time can share their story about poor management. For example, his sources told him that a feature was canceled simply because the CEO’s child didn’t like it, or that everyone on the team knows a level will be cut, but they must continue working on it since there was no official order to remove it. In conclusion, Schreier pointed out that it might be time for self-reflection and more rational management.
• Last week, the chairperson of the Russian Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, announced that Russian authorities intend to make a decision by the end of the month to protect citizens from “destructive content” in games. Following this, there was widespread speculation online about censorship and a possible upcoming ban on games. In response to the rumors, Volodin recently posted in his Telegram channel, stating that games will not be completely banned in the country. However, he did not specify the measures the initiative would entail. Volodin added that the discussion would involve “parental communities, teachers, experts, industry representatives, psychologists, and all interested parties.” According to the official, their participation will help make the final decision balanced.
• Polish mobile game developer Huuuge Games is preparing for large-scale layoffs. The company announced plans to reduce its workforce by up to 28% by early March. The reason for the layoffs was not mentioned in Huuuge Games' press release. In its latest quarterly financial report, Huuuge Games reported a 17.5% drop in revenue to $59 million and a 6.3% decline in its core franchises’ daily active audience to just over 300,000 people.