False boom behind No Rest for the Wicked sparks debate

Thomas Mahler, co-founder and director of Moon Studios, has criticized the AAA game industry’s “false prosperity” in an interview, arguing that one of its biggest problems is simple: the standard $70 price tag makes it harder for games to reach enough players to pay for themselves.

Mahler’s point is easy to see. Many AAA releases seem lavish on the surface: the trailers are polished, the coverage is everywhere, and the production values are obviously high. But once that $70 price hits a player’s wallet, the audience shrinks fast. It pushes away not only players who are unwilling to spend that much, but also people who might have bought in later after word of mouth took hold.

He backs up that criticism by contrasting AAA games with smaller independent projects. Indie games usually work with tighter budgets and more approachable prices, which makes it easier for them to cover costs and, in many cases, turn a profit. AAA games, by contrast, often pour resources into graphics, performance capture, and marketing, only to discover that the final bill is harder to recover than the hype suggested.

He also criticizes the industry’s uneven attention. Media and players alike tend to focus on how big a game looks or how flashy its presentation is, while paying far less attention to the financial logic underneath. With studio closure news continuing to appear in recent years, the reality looks less like broad prosperity and more like serious pressure beneath the surface.

The bigger takeaway is not that AAA games are doomed, but that their pricing and cost structure are squeezing the audience they need to succeed. Smaller, carefully made games can still stand on quality alone, and that may be the more sustainable path in today’s market.