Why we're seeing so many games announced so early

Key Takeaways

Early game announcements are recruiting tools for potential employees
Developers want to build up their teams early for cohesive visions and workflows
Better to make announcements public from the start as leaks are inevitable and attract potential candidates.

There are few things as exciting as a new game announcement. Whether it be a sequel or a new IP from a talented studio, we’re always looking for what we can play next on our consoles and PCs. Normally, these announcements come with a flashy trailer and a rough window for when we can expect to play it. Even rare cases exist where a game is announced and available to play on the same day. But then there’s the opposite scenario which we have been seeing quite a bit of recently. That is, of course, games being announcedas soon as they are entering development.

I don’t need to remind anyone about the current state of game development timelines. For AAA games, even 4 years would be a speedy turnaround time, with 5 years or more becoming the standard. When we get official announcements for a game that has no footage, screenshots, or even an official title, a large part of the community is probably more annoyed than excited. After all, why would a developer want to get us excited for something we won’t see for half a decade? The answer is two-fold and has very little to do with us as consumers. This is why all these games are being announced publicly so early.

This tactic typically only applies to AAA games or studios.

Not even Black Ops 6 can save Game Pass

Xbox made the ultimate gamble by putting Black Ops 6 on Game Pass, but the odds aren’t in its favor.

They’re advertising to developers, not consumers

Fans of a studio or franchise want to see the next entry or game more than anyone. An announcement of a team simply starting work on something could give fans that assurance that something is on the way, but will still end up being forgotten until there’s something substantial to show. Not even the most hardcore fans can stay excited about a game for multiple years without a single glimpse of what it looks like.

The fact is that these announcements aren’t meant to drum up excitement in fans, but in potential employees.

The fact is that these announcements aren’t meant to drum up excitement in fans, but in potential employees. Even in established studios, team sizes fluctuate and change all the time. Generally speaking, the earliest stage of development is when a team needs to start ramping up its staff. The earlier that happens, the better. It is much easier to create a cohesive vision and workflow for a project when the majority of the people working on it have been there from the start. Any new member who comes in late will need to spend weeks (or maybe months depending on their role) catching up and integrating themselves.

We just had two examples of this almost back to back with a sequel to Alien: Isolation announced on its 10th anniversary, along with a AAA game based on the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. Neither game had a title, screenshot, or even target platforms because they were essentially just greenlit. Avatar at least gave us a setting within the universe, but that’s the most we have. That’s nothing for hungry fans, but exactly what a game developer looking for work needs to know. They’re looking to get in on the ground floor and now know the teams they could be a part of, their prior work, and a rough idea of what type of project each game is aiming to be.

Two men from COD Black Ops 6 firing at each other.

Not even Black Ops 6 can save Game Pass

Xbox made the ultimate gamble by putting Black Ops 6 on Game Pass, but the odds aren’t in its favor.

Better to make these announcements public from the start

We’ll find out anyway, so might as well make it a marketing beat

If these “announcements” are primarily acting as recruiting tools, why give them to media outlets at all? Both Alien and Avatar gave official statements to major gaming outlets as well as posted on their own social media pages. If these teams were really just trying to hire up, surely it would be better to keep the games secret until there was something to show, right?

In an ideal world, yes, I would agree with that statement. However, we now live in an age where people will datamine developer websites, search all the new copyright or website domain registrations, and dig through people’s LinkedIn history for the smallest clue about what is being worked on. Maybe these games could be kept secret for a few months, but it is inevitable that something is going to leak so better for the news to come out officially and in a controlled way than the alternative.

Secondarily, making the announcement as public as possible casts the widest possible net for candidates. By making a game announcement front-page news, you guarantee as many eyes as possible are on it, including your target employee market. If a developer were trying to keep the game secret and recruit new staff, a small fraction of potential recruits would see it, let alone apply if they were trying to keep it under wraps and could only describe them as “upcoming AAA projects” or something vague.

We haven’t seen the end of games being announced with little to no work having been done on them. When they crop up, simply tuck the knowledge away if you’re interested but don’t dwell or expect more news anytime soon. These teams are looking for help, not just fan excitement.