Why Game Companies Stopped Making Games - How Money Works | How Money Works
Nov 18, 2025
Discover the astonishing financial growth of the video game industry, which now eclipses films and music. Examine why, despite huge profits, game studios are releasing fewer titles, focusing instead on microtransactions. Explore the challenges of innovation in game development and how nostalgia for classic titles shapes current trends. Learn about major companies shifting from creating games to providing tools for developers, altering the landscape of big-budget gaming forever.
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insights INSIGHT
Games Bigger Than Movies But Less Frequent
The video game industry now earns more than movies and music combined but studios rarely release new big titles frequently.
This shift shows companies prioritize sustained revenue streams over frequent new game launches.
insights INSIGHT
Live Services Beat New Releases
Major publishers avoid producing new games because it can reduce ongoing revenue from existing live services.
Companies financially benefit more by maintaining and monetizing long-lived titles than by risking costly new releases.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Rockstar's Long Gap, Big Profits
Rockstar used to release new titles frequently but by mid-2022 had gone almost four years without a new release.
Despite the dry spell, Rockstar's parent company reported its best financial year ever.
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Why Game Companies Stopped Making Games - How Money Works
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Today the video game industry is worth more than the movie and music industry combined, and the companies that make these games are some of the most valuable businesses in the world.
The only thing is, they don’t really make video games anymore.
Movie studios are pumping out record numbers of big budget movies which are being viewed by more people on more platforms, but video game studios are doing the opposite.
Rock star, the creators of the infamous Grand Theft Auto series used to release a new game every 4 months on average. But as of mid-2022 their latest game is now almost 4 years old, and there is no news of any new releases coming soon.
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Edited By: Andrew Gonzales
Music Courtesy of: Epidemic Sound
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