https://www.eurogamer.net/naughty-dog-cutting-contract-developers-early-report-claims
Rant ahead. Beware.
So there’s a branch of thought that this seems to be down to the live service part of the game that’s been in development forever.
I’ve been thinking about this since Ryan’s departure was announced. I think he’s very generously been given the opportunity to walk out the door rather than being pushed out the window.
We’re, right now, witnessing the collapse of live service and that’s been his almost entire focus during his tenure. Almost none of those games have even launched yet and I will be entirely unsurprised if Sony take huge losses over cancelling the vast majority of them alongside making that Bungie purchase look very very foolish indeed.
I’ve always felt like large gaming platforms have a significant amount of corporate lag in them. For example, Nintendo are still ekeing out the last of a wave that Iwata started, and Ryan has spent the years riding the coattails of House’s decisions. He’s escaping just before his own actual legacy becomes apparent.
It’s going to take whoever replaces him a long time to fix what looks to me like a potentially disastrous issue.