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Insomniac Games used to genre hop every console generation, going from the platformer Spyro to the wacky shooter Ratchet and Clank to the gritty, sci-fi FPS Resistance: Fall of Man. Insomniac CEO Ted Price says in a new interview that this is a lot harder to do these days.
The Insomniac of today is mostly known for the Spider-Man games. It's done a few VR games too, but since 2018 we've had three Spider-Mans (men?) and one Ratchet and Clank game. Still no Resistance reboot or Sunset Overdrive sequel, sadly.
Price says in a Game Maker's Notebook interview on the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences YouTube channel: "Today, games have gotten really big. Many of the larger companies have had to think a lot more cogently about scope and budget and how we get more efficient with how we do things while still delivering what the players want."
Insomniac is one of the few companies that's managed to keep its output relatively high even into the PS4 and PS5 era of gaming. Many others, like Naughty Dog, its main rival of the PS1 and PS2 years, have slowed down drastically due to ballooning development times and costs.
In the early days of Insomniac it partnered with Sony, and Price says the company was "appreciative of the opportunities" because they were able to mix things up and make all those varied games we now know and love.
Price isn't all doom and gloom. He says "I don't think the agility has changed at all. Any company who has been developing games [for] a while can make the decision to jump into another genre, learn about it fast, and deliver something that players will want."
However, he does think "the risk profiles have changed significantly. If you really want to compete at the highest level in a particular genre it does take a lot more resources. That includes time, people, money, and that increases risk."
Despite the risk, "I think every single developer who has put out a few games should consider, if they're passionate about it, switching, doing something new. I think that keeps us all engaged and excited about what we do. But at the same time the barriers to entry into a new genre are significantly higher."
There are plenty of examples of developers that made huge genre and tone shifts between games. My favorite example is Creative Assembly going from RTS games to the fantastic first-person horror of Alien Isolation. More of this, please. Hopefully investors and shareholders will allow more devs to let their creative juices flow and give us new, exciting games.
While you're here, check out our list of the best games of all time. There aren't any Insomniac games on there unfortunately, but you should still check them all out.
