Alexandre Amancio, a former director of Assassin’s Creed, recently shared his views on AAA game development. He believes the industry should shift towards smaller teams and emphasized that throwing more people at a problem doesn’t always help. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Amancio, who now works at FunPlus, expressed concerns about the unsustainable nature of making increasingly large games.
He explained that when a project grows beyond 100 people, it changes the dynamics significantly. The management ratio to developers skyrockets, making collaboration cumbersome. “You need people to coordinate the coordinators,” he said. Instead of solving issues, adding team members often leads to confusion and inefficiency.
Amancio suggested that the future of game development lies in smaller, specialized teams, similar to how the film industry operates. In film, temporary crews come together for specific projects, which allows for more focused creativity. He noted, “In gaming, projects evolve, whereas films follow a more linear process.”
Historically, the gaming industry has positioned itself alongside software development, but Amancio believes it’s more of a hybrid. He argued that the lessons from film can improve gaming. Instead of large teams, games could benefit from assembling the right mix of talent for each project as needed.
Interestingly, the gaming landscape is also influenced by the rise of streaming platforms. For instance, Netflix is developing an Assassin’s Creed adaptation, hinting at a trend where video games and films intersect more deeply in storytelling and audience engagement.
Recent surveys show that nearly 60% of developers prefer smaller teams for game projects, indicating a growing recognition of the benefits of this approach. As the industry evolves, adapting practices from other fields could lead to more innovative and successful games.
