As a gamer, few things, if any, are better than hearing the words, "It's available right now," AKA the mythical shadowdrop. We've seen it happen throughout gaming's history, including multiple times this year, perhaps most famously with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, which dropped in April and quickly took over our collective lives.
That's one way to avoid the Half-Life 3 confirmed jokes: never confirm it.
It turns out, there's a reason why "shadowdrops" have become so prevalent in recent years. Sure, video game developers and publishers love the instant popularity bump, but more than anything, it has a lot to do with our inability to focus on things.
In an interview with GamesRadar, Bethesda Game Studios director Tom Mustaine explained the two-fold approach that his studio has taken when it comes to releasing things on the same day they're announced.
"Todd Howard, the boss man, he's wanted to shadowdrop things for a long time because it's so great to be able to say, 'Here's the thing, get it today.' It's very valuable," Mustaine said.
However, that's only part of the decision. Because the other half has to do with how bad we all are at focusing....
