The COVID-19 outbreak has had a big effect on the gaming industry. Multiple companies have been forced to adopt ‘work from home’ policies to ensure the safety of their employees. Several gaming conferences and esports tournaments have either been delayed or canceled. Fortunately, not many games have been delayed so far because of the outbreak.
We still have had some big launches like Resident Evil 3 Remake, Doom Eternal, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. We also have The Last of Us Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima coming in a couple of months. Even with the on-going pandemic, there is a constant supply of games. However, that might change next year.
According to Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, the virus's impact on game development will be felt more on games that are coming next year. "Through the summer, early fall? I feel pretty good about those games," Spencer told Business Insider. "Games that were targeting a year from now or beyond? There'll be some impact, but they'll be able to react."
Spencer claimed that several aspects of game development can’t be completed by working from home. He stated a few examples like motion capture and audio work. Many games that are launching this year have already completed these tasks, so they will not be held up because of it. However, that’s not the case for next year's games.
"Mocap is just something that's basically stopped. We're not going into mocap studios," Spencer said. "If you had all your animation captured and you're doing touch up in more individual art production and in areas like textures and other things, you're in a better position. If you're waiting for a lot of either large audio work — when it's with symphonies and other things — or mocap, you're held up right now and you're making progress in areas that you are."
So what do you think? Do you agree with Phil Spencer? How have you been affected by the current outbreak? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
