Many gamers are dissatisfied with the state of the AAA game industry or the inclusion of diverse characters in their favorite games. Online, it is often the developers who bear the brunt of the players’ anger. A Sony dev explained that they want to fulfill all the fans’ wishes.
Video game developers have faced increasing criticism and hatred online in recent years. The anonymity of social networks seems to prompt many users to show their worst sides:
- For the developers of the survival hit Rust, death threats are part of the daily routine.
- The developer of the surprise hit The Coffin of Andy and Leyley even withdrew completely from the internet after facing significant online harassment.
- In Destiny 2, disgruntled players drove away the community managers and then complained about the lack of a personal contact.
Ramone Russell, who works as a Communication Strategist for Sony’s baseball game series MLB: The Show, spoke behind the scenes of the DICE Awards with Game File and explained: developers are also just humans.
Many gamers are dissatisfied with the state of some AAA games. Skull and Bones is struggling with criticism, while the developers of Baldur’s Gate 3 are being showered with praise.
“If we’re not doing something, we haven’t found the right way to do it”
What does the Sony dev say? In a brief conversation, Russell explained that no one in the gaming industry comes to work with the intention of making people angry. On the contrary: “We want to give the fans everything, but we can’t,” Russell said.
Everything is difficult. And if we haven’t done something, it’s because we haven’t yet figured out the right way to do it.
Ramone Russell in Game File
The developer further explains that deadlines must be met and resources are limited. Sometimes, this leads to missing goals, but this never happens out of a lack of effort, Russell explains. “We are humans, just like everyone else,” the developer said.
However, criticism can also have a positive effect – as long as it is expressed constructively and does not turn into insults or even threats. For example, the developers of the new survival game Nightingale have shown that they are listening to their players and fulfilled their biggest wish:
Nightingale: Players want exactly one thing – and the developers deliver
