Dan Daglow, a veteran of the gaming industry with half a century of experience, is convinced that major publishers are trapped by an overreliance on sequels and established franchises. In his view, only rare independent projects, such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, can break through this dominance and capture widespread attention.
Daglow emphasizes that finding a significant new franchise developed by a major publisher is becoming increasingly difficult:
How many years has it been since each of the major publishers had a significant new franchise? Their own development? The answer is one – it was a long time ago, and it’s not their fault. When you get that big, the only games you can chase are the ones you think will make hundreds of millions. You can no longer make smart small games because it doesn’t please the stock market. It doesn’t increase your revenue.
He points out that with massive budgets, sometimes reaching $440 million, publishers are unwilling to take risks and experiment. However, the success of Expedition 33, created by a modest team of 35 people, proves that innovation is still possible. The game exhibits AAA quality with significantly lower costs, challenging the notion that only huge investments yield top-tier results.
If you’re spending $440 million on a game, that’s not where you take risks and do something unpredictable.
According to Daglow, truly original and groundbreaking ideas should now be sought primarily in the indie sector:
That’s where a lot of exciting new ideas come from. Many of them won’t find their audience, but some will.