Buona la Prima - Episode 68

Pietro Faccio and Gustav Nisser of Buona la Prima take us into their wonderful world dedicated to the video game industry.

The podcast Buona la Prima is a partner of Biunivoca.

In the episode of Buona la Prima, Brynley Gibson (producer with over 20 years of experience at Sony, Avalanche, Sharkmob and others) explains why the video game industry is adopting a Hollywood-like approach: smaller and more stable core teams, strong validation before major funding, and the use of external specialists and co-development only when necessary.

Investments have dropped compared to the pandemic boom (from around 10 to 2 billion, according to the data cited). The money is still there, but it is more selective and limited: those who previously offered 10 million are now offering 2-5 million, and the large sums have dropped accordingly.
After years of bloated teams and growth for growth's sake, the market demands efficiency and risk control.

Smaller teams are more agile, controllable, and have a low burn rate: they allow you to change direction without burning resources. Gibson prefers this model precisely because it reduces risk and leaves room for the right decisions for the game.

However, it is not a copy of the cinema: engines, pipelines, and long development cycles remain typical complexities of gaming. Managing it poorly (poor coordination with partners or a weak core team) can create more problems than it solves. And you can still make great titles with huge teams, if organized well.

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