A screenshot from Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (2024), FromSoftware

Former World of Warcraft Team Lead Mark Kern blasted the Western video game industry and its allies for blaming gamers’ expectations and a bad economy for poor sales in the wake of Elden Ring developer FromSoftware announcing big salary increases.

Mark Kern via Sodapoppin YouTube

FromSoftware announced their salary increases on social media with a post on X stating, “As part of our efforts to create a rewarding working environment, FromSoftware will be raising base salaries and starting salaries for new graduates. We will continue to work on game development to provide our users with even more excitement and ‘valuable games.’”

FromSoftware PR on X

In the linked press release, as translated via DeepL, the company announced it was increasing “the basic salary of its current employees by an average of approximately 11.8% effective April 2025. In conjunction with this increase, the starting salary for new graduates will also be raised from 260,000 yen to 300,000 yen.”

The company added, “We want to convey excitement and create value. We want to create value. We want to delight. We are committed to creating games with this in mind. To achieve this, we believe it is essential to create an environment in which each and every employee can focus on developing content, and we are working to create an environment in which employees have stable income and a rewarding job. The increase in base salary and starting salary is one of these measures.”

“We will continue to develop games to provide users with even more excitement and games with value,” it concluded.

A screenshot from Elden Ring (2022), FromSoftware Inc.

Kern aka Grummz reacted to this writing, “FromSoftware announced a 11.8% raise for everyone. AAA Western game defenders are trying to tell you that the horrible sales this year are because of gamers expecting too much, or a horrible economy.

“This is a false narrative, spun to avoid the real reasons,” he continued. “AAA Studios have abandoned their customers, preferring to churn out buggy, formula games that focus more on virtue signalling than gameplay.”

FromSoftware, Game Science, Helldivers, Palworld all have smaller budgets than Ubisoft, EA, and others, and compete in the SAME economy,” Grummz wrote. “They are killing it, and giving people raises as Western companies do massive layoffs and cut costs.”

Next, he shared, “The lesson is clear for those that will listen: Gamers first. Leave the pandering at the door.”

This idea of not putting players first appears to have been rampant across multiple video game companies as Kern points out. Most recently, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot implied that was the case with his company as he announced the company would be returning to a player-first strategy.

In a leaked memo to Ubisoft employees obtained by Insider Gaming, Guillemot wrote, “In today’s ultra-competitive market, players expect extraordinary experiences and ultra-polished games on Day 1. We need to continue to improve when it comes to fine-tuning our games and delivering outstanding gameplay. This is what will enable Ubisoft to again create the best games in the industry.”

He added, “Beyond the first important short-term actions that I’ve outlined above, the company’s top management will focus on accelerating the improvement of our production, communication, and publishing practices and processes in close collaboration with all these teams, with the objective to put players at the heart of all our decisions. We will regularly update you on the progress we’re making.”

This was reflected in a press release where Guillemot stated, “In the light of recent challenges, we acknowledge the need for greater efficiency while delighting players. As a result, beyond the first important short-term actions undertaken, the Executive Committee, under the supervision of the Board of Directors, is launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, notably in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path towards a higher performing model to the benefit of our stakeholders and shareholders.”

A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft

It is not just Ubisoft, Square Enix seemingly made a similar move when it announced its new corporate philosophy of providing players with “unforgettable experiences” and shifting from quantity to quality that delivers “ensured fun.”

The company shared as part of its new medium-term business plan that it’s new corporate philosophy is to “Enrich people’s own life with our help of creating precious ‘unforgettable experiences.’ The power of content is that of moving people’s heart. The experience that people are impressed is etched in my mind as ‘unforgettable experiences’ over time.”

“‘Unforgettable experiences’ will be part of people’s sense of value over time, leading to moral support,” Square Enix continued. “‘Unforgettable experiences’ enrich people’s own life. We would like to help creating precious ‘Unforgettable experiences’ by delivering contents filled with ensured fun.”

A screenshot from Forspoken (2023), Square Enix

In order to do this, Square Enix revealed it will “strive to create the optimal portfolio, striking a balance between a ‘product-out’ approach that gives creators’ imaginations free rein as they develop content, and a ‘market-in’ approach that references customers’ voices and data to inform our development.”

The company added that it will “engage honestly with our customers and strive for a regular launch cadence, focusing our development efforts and investment on titles with strong potential to be loved for years.”

Finally, the company added it will “continue to monitor the value of our content production account closely and work to keep it to an appropriate level.”

A screenshot from Square Enix’s New Medium-term Business Plan (FY2025/3-FY2027/3).

While Square Enix and Ubisoft have publicly announced new strategies, other companies such as PlayStation and Microsoft and its subsidiaries have indeed blamed the economy.

Gaming at Microfosoft CEO Phil Spencer claimed the industry’s mass layoffs were due to a lack of growth in the industry. during an interview he gave to Polygon at the Game Developers Conference.

He said, “I’ll say the thing that has me most concerned for the industry is the lack of growth. And when you have an industry that is projected to be smaller next year in terms of players and dollars, and you get a lot of publicly traded companies that are in the industry that have to show their investors growth — because why else does somebody own a share of someone’s stock if it’s not going to grow? — the side of the business that then gets scrutinized is the cost side.”

“Because if you’re not going to grow the revenue side, then the cost side becomes challenged,” he added.

Phil Spencer. Photo Credit: eVRydayVR, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Spencer went on, “We’re a business. I’ve said over and over. I don’t get any luxury of not having to run a profitable growing business inside of Microsoft. And we are that today. But just across the industry — you mentioned it, and in sitting here at GDC, I reflect on friends of mine in the industry that have been displaced and lost their jobs and how just, I don’t want this industry to be a place where people can’t, with confidence, build a career.”

“So that’s why I keep pivoting back to: How does this industry get back to growth? But to your question, for us as Xbox or any of the teams that are out there, it is really an outcome of an industry that’s not growing. It can grow and it will grow again. But you see this time right now and the implications have human impact. And we should all reflect on that and think about it,” Spencer asserted.

Key art for Halo Infinite (2021), 343 Industries

Similarly former Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan claimed the reason the company laid off 8% of its staff in February was because the industry was changing.

He explained, “The industry has changed immensely, and we need to future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead. We need to deliver on expectations from developers and gamers and continue to propel future technology in gaming, so we took a step back to ensure we are set up to continue bringing the best gaming experiences to the community.”

A screenshot from God of War Ragnarök (2024), Santa Monica Studio

Furthermore, he pointed to the economy saying that “the evolving economic landscape, changes in the way we develop, distribute, and launch products, and ensuring our organization is future ready in this rapidly changing industry, we have concluded that tough decisions have become inevitable.”

He then revealed, “The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success.”

A screenshot from Concord (2024), Firewalk Studios

What do you make of Kern’s comments?