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Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director Michael Douse says there's an easy way for major studios to stop botching their own launches: set clear expectations for players before the game is out.
"I feel like a lot of big games are being let down by a lack of understanding regarding what they actually are before they go to release," Douse says in a Twitter thread. "I don't see those conversations happening at the scale they should, meanwhile you see billboards and shit that doesn't really build any resonance."
"Totally avoidable," he continues. "Don't try and 'wow players,' explain to players how they can 'wow' themselves."
Douse's observations come at what feels like a miserable time for the gaming industry; both studios that create ostentatious but unpopular games, like Concord, and studios that create wildly thriving phenomena, like Marvel Rivals, are closing or downsizing. Douse also seems to be responding directly to comments EA made earlier this month about Dragon Age: The Veilguard, whose apparently disappointing sales seem to have precipitated recent layoffs at BioWare.
Speaking at an earnings call earlier this month, EA CEO Andrew Wilson maintained that The Veilguard "did not resonate with a broad enough audience in this highly competitive market."
But Douse says in his Twitter thread that "you can't wait to see if a game 'resonates with players,' it's insane. [...] Build resonance before launch. Set expectation. Under promise, over-deliver. The latter part sounds crazy, but it's far less crazy than saying something 'didn't resonate' in a financial report as though that's a surprise."
"I absolutely think this ties into layoffs in a big way," Douse continues. "Uncertainty where – actually – there doesn't have to be."
