Kristian Segerstrale: Cross-platform, not new platforms, will drive growth
Kristian Segerstale believes industry growth will be driven by developers embracing a cross-platform strategy, rather than waiting for a single new platform to disrupt the market.
In the opening keynote of Develop:Brighton today, the Super Evil Megacorp CEO was asked about the state of platform and the industry. Host and MobileGamer.biz editor Neil Long noted that, with console, mobile and PC well-established, it "doesn't feel like there's anything new on the horizon" that might bolster the games market.
He added that while some companies have attempted to disrupt the industry with Web3 and metaverse properties, there's nothing to rival the rise of smartphones and app stores, for example.
"It's true there is no single new platform that is driving growth," Segerstrale said. "That said, there's an awful lot of opportunity to make the most out of the platforms that we have.
"I think it's almost physics at this point – there's such gravitational pull around cross-platform for any core or midcore gaming IP... Once you've made a really good game, you can reach more players by being on more platforms. It's sort of obvious, but we don't always think of it that way."
He added that mobiles becoming more powerful will be key to this, although acknowledged that developers need to think carefully about the input mechanisms, business models, and so on.
At the start of the session, Segerstrale discussed the current state of the industry, attempting to offer a little optimism for attendees.
"If you want to feel good about games, the best thing to do is find someone who works in movies, music or almost any other kind of media and ask them 'how are you doing?' Because frankly in games we're doing pretty amazing.
"I know I sound a little flippant about it – this year is bad. We've had over 10,000 layoffs in the first half of the year, which is more than all of last year put together. We see projects being cancelled, studios being closed, some unfathomable decisions by really big companies
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