There's a lot of scepticism about the future of the games industry right now, which is hardly surprising given the sheer number of layoffs, studio closures, game cancellations, and failed live-service offerings.
Developers have raised concerns about the impacts that models like Game Pass are having, while others doubt the sustainability of big-budget, lengthy dev cycles, with hundreds of millions of dollars thrown at projects, turning every game into a make-or-break for studios.
Doom co-creator John Romero has been at the forefront of these hurdles, as Xbox pulled funding from his new game amid huge cuts earlier this month. But, unlike many, he's optimistic about where the medium is headed.
As reported by PC Gamer, speaking on the Nightdive Studios' Deep Dive podcast, Romero said that the industry is "so much bigger than it used to be," highlighting the burst of indie games that have sprawled onto the scene in the last decade. "Just go to Itch.io if you want to see how many indies there are out there. How many games are released on Steam every month? Most of them are indie games. iOS, Android - indie, indie, indie."
Romero fielded this question before...
