Games are getting more expensive, but the industry's answer looks grim: fewer permanent devs, more contractors, more outsourcing. That might save money on paper, but players are going to feel what gets lost. Join us at http://bellular.games for early access content, 20 editions of 'Loading Screen' a month and to support our team! 00:00 The Quiet Part Out Loud 01:03 Budgets Got Insane 04:32 Someone Pays For This 05:39 The Job Security Line 07:50 The Contractor Future 11:18 Great Games Need Stable Teams 15:30 What The Industry Forgot Sources: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-we-ve-been-a-little-bit-too-romantic-ustwo-ceo-says-lowering-development-costs-is-now-paramount https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-01-10/why-so-many-video-games-cost-so-much-to-make https://bellular.games/game-dev-outsourcing-has-a-dark-side/ https://newsletter.hushcrasher.com/p/why-video-games-cost-so-much-to-make https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-deprofessionalization-is-bad-for-video-games https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-i-monument-valley-i-developer-ustwo-threatened-with-legal-action-over-union-busting