It's Outrageous Now

Summary

The video criticizes the scale and direction of AAA game budgets, using Gears of War: E-Day as its main example. The narrator argues that the franchise has lost much of its former popularity, making a reported $500 million budget difficult to justify.

Earlier rumors put the figure at $400 million. The narrator notes that it remains unclear whether the $500 million was spent solely on E-Day or also covered other work by The Coalition. The video also cites reported sales of 400,000 copies as evidence that the game has underperformed.

Criticism of Gears of War: E-Day

The narrator’s main complaints include:

• Missing multiplayer features: The game launched without expected features such as ranked matches and custom games, despite ranked play reportedly having been in beta.
• Limited appeal of Horde mode: The mode offers an interesting variation, but the narrator says it isn’t enough to keep players engaged on its own.
• An incomplete multiplayer experience: The core gameplay is described as decent, but the missing features could make it harder to attract and retain players.
• A lengthy development cycle: The narrator contrasts the game’s development time with that of the original Gears of War trilogy, which was released over a shorter period.

Broader industry concerns

The video argues that runaway budgets and long development cycles are unsustainable, particularly for games with limited audience demand. The narrator warns that costly failures could lead to layoffs, cost-cutting, and less willingness to take creative risks.

The narrator also argues that the industry has not learned from Concord’s failure and predicts that extraction shooters, such as Marathon, could become the next costly trend.

Gamers, sources, and games mentioned

No individual gamers are named. The video refers to unnamed industry professionals and reports or rumors about Gears of War: E-Day’s budget and sales.

Named companies include The Coalition, Bungie, and Activision. Games and franchises mentioned include Concord, Gears of War, Halo, Call of Duty, Marathon, and Obsession.