Overview
- In a new interview with The Game Business, Owen Mahoney characterizes AAA’s condition as an “end-of-days” moment and warns it is structurally failing without a serious rewrite of development practices.
- He describes public-company CEOs facing intense scrutiny over nine-figure bets, which pushes them to approve familiar projects rather than novel ideas.
- Mahoney predicts generative AI will enable smaller teams, shorten timelines, and could, by his estimate, help the games business triple in five to seven years.
- He cautions that AI can flood the market with low-quality “slop,” criticizes cost-cutting hype, and argues players will keep rejecting poor products.
- Pointing to Nexon’s 2021 purchase of Embark despite investor pushback, he credits the success of Arc Raiders to a motivated team and rejects the idea that past hits guarantee future results.