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Is the covid excuse for game delays past the point of goodwill, and is it just bad management/decisions now?
- Thread starter cormack12
- Start date
th4tguy
Member
Depends on where the studio is.
Can’t base a studios performance off of what happens in the uk if they aren’t setup there.
In general, with a few exceptions, I’d say we are pretty close to being past it being an excuse. I’d say any game which began development in 22 and beyond past any excuse for disruptions.
Can’t base a studios performance off of what happens in the uk if they aren’t setup there.
In general, with a few exceptions, I’d say we are pretty close to being past it being an excuse. I’d say any game which began development in 22 and beyond past any excuse for disruptions.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
You can never get back lost time.
And the effects of the pandemic will be with us for the foreseeable future, primarily in the form of work from home. It's going to take major cultural shifts and management shifts to get similar production out of people working from home.
And the effects of the pandemic will be with us for the foreseeable future, primarily in the form of work from home. It's going to take major cultural shifts and management shifts to get similar production out of people working from home.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
No, not really. Things that impacted everyone from 2020 to 2022~23 will have ramifications for some time after too. It's not like 2023 alone made up for the last 3 years.
analog_future
Resident Crybaby
There are a fuckton of games still in development now that started during or before COVID hit.
COVID is still absolutely making an impact on games in development today.
COVID is still absolutely making an impact on games in development today.
DaleinCalgary
Member
What's Covid
EverydayBeast
ChatGPT 0.1
Covid was such an amazing excuse #1 flu has been around, if you had the flu you know #2 you can find games that came out during the pandemic and successful (Spider-Man miles, ghost of Tsushima etc.)
Bond007
Member
I think it is- I mean, alot of the games we are seeing were in development through COVID. So yea I still think we are going to see some lingering effects for sometime.
GTA comes out next year. We may have had it in our hands already if it weren't for 2020. Who knows?
Im also sure it's been used as a cop out.
Alot depends on timing. Where was said game in development during that time?
You gotta assume games released in that period were already well on their way to completion and nearly finished- going through less of an impact compared to a game just starting up or in mid phase.
GTA comes out next year. We may have had it in our hands already if it weren't for 2020. Who knows?
Im also sure it's been used as a cop out.
Alot depends on timing. Where was said game in development during that time?
You gotta assume games released in that period were already well on their way to completion and nearly finished- going through less of an impact compared to a game just starting up or in mid phase.
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Physiognomonics
Member
With COVID big corporations and their greedy bosses raised their margins and for the most part succeeded at raising their profits. Now gamers and developers are paying for that.
It's easy, really. With fear propaganded by the governments around the world (for no real reason other than "pandemy") corporations had "I can do whatever I want" free card for 2 years (encouraged by the corrupt governements).
It's easy, really. With fear propaganded by the governments around the world (for no real reason other than "pandemy") corporations had "I can do whatever I want" free card for 2 years (encouraged by the corrupt governements).
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cash_longfellow
Member
Some of y’all be acting like Covid was 20 years ago and only lasted a month 
Killjoy-NL
Member
People have the memory of goldfish. It's not even exclusive to Gaf, but in general.Some of y’all be acting like Covid was 20 years ago and only lasted a month
The economy will take years to fully recover.
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
I worked through COVID as if it was just another work day, week, month, year.
Lockdown didn't exist for me, it was business as usual.
There is no excuse for it now and there was no real excuse for it back then given the closed environment they worked in.
I literally had people with COVID approaching me on a daily basis wanting help, and I moved from different parts of the country doing this.
When did I finally get it? at home.
It was inevitable.
COVID didn't cause delays & set backs, fear of getting COVID did.
Fear mongering of new variants, raising cases, etc ,etc
That what really set things back
And it was especially worse for people who need a safe bubble.
Which sadly these days the industry is full of.
Lockdown didn't exist for me, it was business as usual.
There is no excuse for it now and there was no real excuse for it back then given the closed environment they worked in.
I literally had people with COVID approaching me on a daily basis wanting help, and I moved from different parts of the country doing this.
When did I finally get it? at home.
It was inevitable.
COVID didn't cause delays & set backs, fear of getting COVID did.
Fear mongering of new variants, raising cases, etc ,etc
That what really set things back
And it was especially worse for people who need a safe bubble.
Which sadly these days the industry is full of.
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Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
If you define what "COVID delay" actually means, it just means that you're getting slightly more difficult management duties due to people being remote. Everyone still has their equipment. Everyone is still working the same amount of time, in theory.
So it ultimately just comes down to bad management. People not communicating or tasking efficiently. People being lazy at home perhaps. It shouldn't really take more than a couple months to figure out how to work at home and attend meetings. But I'm not a programmer so who knows.
So it ultimately just comes down to bad management. People not communicating or tasking efficiently. People being lazy at home perhaps. It shouldn't really take more than a couple months to figure out how to work at home and attend meetings. But I'm not a programmer so who knows.
Ellery
Member
Lacking quality people, DEI, work ethic, huge scale for games, low pay in the industry and gigantic competition paired with running after trends and being late are the main reasons I see.
Covid and covid excuses are over now. Sure it might have affected some games at some stage that are still in development, but at some point we gotta let go of that.
Covid and covid excuses are over now. Sure it might have affected some games at some stage that are still in development, but at some point we gotta let go of that.
Woopah
Member
The issue wasn't so much releasing games during the pandemic, it was having to adapt to lock down mid development.
There's a really good article on it here - https://www.fanbyte.com/legacy/one-year-later-how-the-pandemic-has-affected-the-video-game-industry
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Bernardougf
Member
Yes... its a mere excuse for quite some time now... some people will ride this until next gen ... lets see the excuses then.
cash_longfellow
Member
100%!
tommyleelynn
Member
I think the effects of COVID throughout the industry were more than just delayed games.
You had downsizing, permanent closures, and deaths. The smallest developers had it the worst. The largest ones that were “too big to fail” have mostly adapted. The industry has mostly acclimated to a post-COVID world, but the economy, household consumption and the greater gaming audience still have yet to accept the new reality.
Big gaming years were still rare pre-COVID. Ballooning budgets, working conditions changes, industry strikes, etc. are what are the most prevalent issues affecting gaming right now. You see less hype cycle in the years before a game releases and more in the months leading up.
E3 is dead. We are living with a same animal but a different beast. Looks the same, behaves differently now.
It’s been more than a decade since you got a sequel to GTA or Skyrim. That isn’t just COVID. There’s more to the story, but yes on the whole, COVID is no longer the primary reason you are seeing a gaming drought. It is still however a strong undercurrent for the issues that a lot ongoing currently.
You had downsizing, permanent closures, and deaths. The smallest developers had it the worst. The largest ones that were “too big to fail” have mostly adapted. The industry has mostly acclimated to a post-COVID world, but the economy, household consumption and the greater gaming audience still have yet to accept the new reality.
Big gaming years were still rare pre-COVID. Ballooning budgets, working conditions changes, industry strikes, etc. are what are the most prevalent issues affecting gaming right now. You see less hype cycle in the years before a game releases and more in the months leading up.
E3 is dead. We are living with a same animal but a different beast. Looks the same, behaves differently now.
It’s been more than a decade since you got a sequel to GTA or Skyrim. That isn’t just COVID. There’s more to the story, but yes on the whole, COVID is no longer the primary reason you are seeing a gaming drought. It is still however a strong undercurrent for the issues that a lot ongoing currently.
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Loomy
Thinks Microaggressions are Real
Delays from workers being displaced is somewhat alleviated. If there are studios out there that have not adapted, then that's on them. The fucked up thing now is that - like you said - bad management decisions during lockdown from publishers and their investors is partly what led gaming (and tech as a whole) here.
Businesses made greedy investment and borrowing decisions, intending to boost short term gains and saying fuck it to long term stability because they knew when they needed to shed some of the debt they could just lay some people off.
Businesses made greedy investment and borrowing decisions, intending to boost short term gains and saying fuck it to long term stability because they knew when they needed to shed some of the debt they could just lay some people off.
ReBurn
Gold Member
Exactly what I experienced. When I told my teams they had to come back to the office because their KPI's were lagging too much over 90% of them said that they were more productive working from home. So I asked them why they were missing deadlines if they're more productive. By their accounts they should have been finishing work faster.
I already knew what everyone was doing because ActiveTrak snitched on them. Come to find out that less than 10% were more productive. Another 20% were about as productive as they had been working in the office. The rest were not productive at all. But those people were the ones most adamant that they were more productive working from home. Sure enough their KPI's improved when they were sitting right next to each other again.
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Tiago Rodrigues
Member
People thinking covid delays would only be felt for 2 years in here is hilarious, lmao.
The way most studios worked changed for years. many are still working from home.
You can't make up for lost time. This gen is literally delayed by like 2 years and it's painfully obvious.
The way most studios worked changed for years. many are still working from home.
You can't make up for lost time. This gen is literally delayed by like 2 years and it's painfully obvious.
_Ex_
Member
Heimdall_Xtreme
Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
If I work during the pandemic and even risking my own life.
I don't see why there are people who think it's an impediment.
ZehDon
Member
If a game takes seven years to make, and COVID interrupted three of those years, you'll still be feeling the effects of COVID's impact until the end of those seven years. I'd wager we'll still be seeing the impacts right up until the end of the generation, as games seem to take about a generation to make at this point.
FeralEcho
Member
It was a bullshit excuse even then.It was just right at the time to sell their pretty lie.
Working from home might require an adjusting period but in a couple of months it should all work properly with a good manager but for these losers it apparently took them till after Covid to try to adjust and not even now they adjusted.
Truth is,the only adjustment they wanted was working less for the same pay.
Many people (myself included) worked DURING the pandemic,always wore my mask,always washed my hands,did multiple tests,never got infected.
These sad fucks can't be bothered to go to the office 2 years AFTER the Pandemic ended and some people in this thread still buy their bullshit excuses.These people could sell a literal turd and y'all would buy it.
Current state of this shit industry:
It's an embarassment.And it is this way because we as consumers allow it.
Working from home might require an adjusting period but in a couple of months it should all work properly with a good manager but for these losers it apparently took them till after Covid to try to adjust and not even now they adjusted.
Truth is,the only adjustment they wanted was working less for the same pay.
Many people (myself included) worked DURING the pandemic,always wore my mask,always washed my hands,did multiple tests,never got infected.
These sad fucks can't be bothered to go to the office 2 years AFTER the Pandemic ended and some people in this thread still buy their bullshit excuses.These people could sell a literal turd and y'all would buy it.
Current state of this shit industry:
It's an embarassment.And it is this way because we as consumers allow it.
