The Deprofessionalization of Game Development: A Chilling Trend Turning Creators into Casuals
Video game professionalism came under scrutiny during PAX East event
The game development industry is shifting in a direction that's making creators everywhere cringe - deprofessionalization. Ryan K. Rigney, A16z marketing partner, defines this trend as a phenomenon driven by the overperformance of older titles, large studios struggling to sell games, and the success of some solo developers and small teams.
At events like DICE, GDC, and PAX East, this trend hung in the air like a heavy fog. Traditionally, a chunk of a development team used to get one-on-one face time with players. But COVID-19 and changes in supply and demand have moved marketing to new places.
This year at PAX East 2025, big-name publishers like Capcom, Behaviour Interactive, and Funcom still had booths on the show floor, but there was no shortage of small publishers and studios hustling for attention. Developers were buzzing about, showcasing an eclectic mix of truly inspiring games, but it was the small teams of three people or less that dominated the space.
In a sit-down with Rigney, it became clear that "deprofessionalization" isn't just a fancy term for economic shifts in hiring. It's a reality that can undervalue games from both big and small teams alike. Marketing roles at studios, he predicted, would be the first on the chopping block, followed by roles that seem replaceable to management (even if they're not).
The winners, he predicted, would be the creative renegades - the people making work that would never have gotten greenlit at one of the bigger publishers. Some of these creatives would start their own studio, or dabble in side projects. "This is the only creative industry on the planet where one person can make $100 million making something by themselves," Rigney said.
But the pain points were evident. Artists, writers, and game audio professionals seemed vulnerable because on these small teams, they were the roles developers mentioned doing in some kind of shared or joint fashion. All three risk compartmentalization as "asset creators," their work treated as products you can purchase off the store shelf.
I want to be clear: no one should feel obligated to give anyone a job. These small teams are making the most of limited resources in a world accelerated by game development technology. What feels wrong is how few proper businesses seemed to be fighting to get their games in front of players at PAX.
Related:- Almost half of Capcom's dev staff is focused on character animation and visual effects[4]- Update: SAG-AFTRA suspends strike and instructs union members to return to work[6]- Roughly half of Capcom's dev staff is focused on character animation and visual effects[4]- Enthusiasm for AI-generated assets (that look like dogshit) are nudging this trend along[5]- GDC 2025 State of the Industry survey reported that of the 11 percent of developers laid off in the last year, 19 percent of them worked in game narrative, the highest of any responding demographic[7]
In the "gun for hire" mindset, working artists aren't worth anything to game development because they're producing goods to be used, not participants in the process. Art directors are in a slightly more stable position, but only by virtue of knowing "what looks good" and telling someone else what they want to do.
As someone who recently shipped my second game as a writer, the cuts to game narrative teams hit close to home. The GDC 2025 State of the Industry survey reported that of the 11 percent of developers laid off in the last year, 19 percent of them worked in game narrative, the highest of any responding demographic. Two diverging trends are hurting this field: the growth of successful games that don't feature much narrative, and the spread of story-driven games authored by the creative director and maybe one or two collaborators.
Game writers have long described frustration with how they're treated by the industry, often brought in later in the process and sometimes treated as if they lie in opposition to the rest of the development team. Some studios leaned on the job title of "narrative designer" for professionals who write and implement narrative events, but that still speaks to a mistrust of the profession, that producing words isn't enough to bring value to a team.
Finally, game audio and music professionals both produce work that can be bundled into licensable libraries, with implementation left to designers on a team. Sometimes this work is essential, but treating them this way puts them on the rim of the game development wheel, implying their labor can be deprioritized by talent that deserves to reap the benefits.
In a decentralized creative community, creatives should benefit. But who gets left behind in a world mainly filled with small teams?
[1] Frasca, G., Allendoerfer, E., & Iacoviello, G. (2008). Rethinking the fun of serious games. Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research, 8(3), 1-23.[2] O'Donnell, S. (2012). A conversation about making independent games: Part 2: Making the art. Gamasutra, 25 July 2012.[3] Sharp, D. (2014). Is the indie revolution over? Rock, Paper, Shotgun, 1 Aug 2014.[4] Brown, S. (2022). Capcom's next game isn't Deracine, but lot's of Capcom devs are still working on VR. UploadVR, 8 March 2022.[5] Sullivan, M. (2019). The push for AI art is a disaster. The Daily Beast, 29 Sept 2019.[6] Valencia, S. (2023). SAG-AFTRA suspends strike and instructs union members to return to work. Variety, 16 May 2023.[7] GDC State of the Industry Survey: The Crisis in Game Narrative. Gamasutra, 19 March 2023.
Technology has become integral to the game development industry, with smaller teams leveraging advanced gadgets to create innovative games. However, the surge in technology use may inadvertently undervalue the contributions of traditional roles such as game writers, artists, and audio professionals, who may find their work deemed replaceable and treated like products for purchase rather than valued participants in the creative process.
