Starfield Developer Says Players Are Sick of Long Games

A former Starfield developer, Will Shen, reveals player fatigue with excessively long AAA games. This saturation of the market with lengthy titles, he suggests, is fueling a resurgence of shorter gaming experiences.

Shen, a veteran with credits including Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, observed in an interview with Kiwi Talkz (via Gamespot) that a significant portion of gamers are tiring of games boasting dozens of hours of playtime. He highlighted the challenge of adding another lengthy title to an already crowded market, contrasting it with the impact of past successes like Skyrim, which established the "evergreen game" model. He compared this to Dark Souls' influence on the popularity of challenging third-person combat. A key point he made is that most players don't complete games exceeding ten hours, emphasizing the importance of completion for story engagement and overall product satisfaction.

The impact of this AAA market saturation with lengthy games, according to Shen, is evident in the growing popularity of shorter games. He cited the success of Mouthwashing, a short indie horror game, as a prime example. He argued that its concise playtime was crucial to its positive reception, suggesting that a longer version with extensive side quests would have been less successful.

Despite the rising popularity of shorter games, longer experiences like Starfield, with its 2024 DLC Shattered Space and a rumored 2025 expansion, remain prevalent in the industry. The continued release of expansions for already extensive games suggests that the demand for lengthy titles persists.