For years, the gaming industry embraced the “fail fast” mindset, a remnant of the startup world that encouraged rapid iteration and quick pivots. As the industry enters an era of maturation, it’s increasingly clear that this approach no longer serve us. So what’s next? The time has come for a more deliberate, thoughtful approach to game creation.
The shift away from “fail fast” isn’t happening in a vacuum. We’re facing a perfect storm of market conditions that demand a new approach. Higher interest rates have made capital more expensive and less available. The market has matured, becoming saturated with high-quality titles across genres. In this environment, the luxury of failure is one we can’t afford.
While “fail fast” served us well in the ‘blue ocean’ days, it’s less effective in today’s ‘red ocean’ market. The approach that once led to innovative breakthroughs now risks producing half-baked products that fail to resonate with increasingly discerning players.
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach, once a cornerstone of rapid development, now poses significant risks. In a market teeming with polished, feature-rich games, an MVP is more likely to fall flat than to gain traction. We’re no longer measuring how good our product is in a vacuum, but how it stands up against a sea of established, refined competitors.
The new norm calls for a more deliberate approach to game development. This means investing time and resources in understanding our audience deeply before we write a single line of code. It means thorough research, careful planning, and a commitment to quality over quantity.
Look at the approach of companies like Mainframe and Avalon, working on ambitious MMO projects. These studios aren’t throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks. They’re investing years in crafting deep, engaging experiences designed to resonate with specific audiences.
Or look at Scopely. They’re focused on making games work through multiple iterations within a single thesis. This approach recognizes that success often comes not from pivoting to new ideas, but from refining and perfecting a core concept until it truly shines.
This shift towards deliberate development doesn’t mean abandoning innovation or efficiency. It calls for smarter use of data and AI to understand our players more deeply than ever before. Advanced analytics and machine learning can help us build experiences for our audience’s psychology and values, increasing the chances of creating a truly resonant game.
This shift has profound implications for how studios structure and staff development teams. They need individuals who can think deeply and strategically, who can dive into player psychology and emerging market trends. Cross-functional collaboration becomes more crucial than ever, as its necessary to align every aspect of a game — from core mechanics to monetization strategies — with understanding your target audience.
Being deliberate doesn’t mean being slow or inflexible. It means being thoughtful, strategic, and deeply in tune with your audience. It means making experiences that don’t just capture fleeting attention, but foster long-term engagement and loyalty.
This deliberate approach isn’t just adapting to a changing market — it’s laying the groundwork for the next evolution of our industry. We’re moving from a model of quantity to one of quality, from guesswork to insight, from rapid iteration to careful cultivation.
The era of “fail fast” has served its purpose, pushing gaming to new heights of innovation and creativity. Now, it’s time to build on that foundation with a more mature, considered approach.
