In an industry increasingly dominated by astronomical budgets and sky-high sales expectations, one veteran game developer is pushing back against the relentless pursuit of blockbuster numbers. Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who served as game director on the critically acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, has voiced concerns about the gaming industry’s obsession with achieving massive commercial success, arguing that this mindset often leads projects to “fail” despite being fundamentally good games.

The perspective offers a sobering look at the modern gaming landscape, where titles that would have been considered tremendous successes a decade ago are now deemed disappointments by corporate standards. While generating revenue remains essential for any entertainment product—after all, without financial returns, studios cannot sustain the talented teams needed to create these experiences—Tomaszkiewicz suggests that the definition of success has become dangerously skewed, particularly among the industry’s largest publishers.

The Blockbuster Trap and Rising Development Costs

The gaming industry has witnessed an unprecedented escalation in development costs over the past two decades. Where major titles once required budgets in the tens of millions, today’s AAA productions routinely exceed $100 million, with some estimates placing the most ambitious projects well above $200 million when marketing expenditures are included. This financial reality creates immense pressure on publishers like Xbox, PlayStation, and other major platform holders to ensure their flagship releases generate returns that justify such massive investments.

This environment has produced what many industry observers call the “blockbuster trap”—a cycle where games must sell increasingly large quantities simply to break even, let alone turn a profit. Titles that move several million copies, numbers that would represent extraordinary success for most entertainment products, are sometimes labeled as underperformers when measured against inflated corporate expectations. Games like Square Enix’s Tomb Raider reboot, which sold millions of units, were initially considered disappointments by their publishers, illustrating how disconnected these expectations have become from reasonable benchmarks.

Lessons from The Witcher 3’s Success

Tomaszkiewicz’s perspective carries significant weight given his instrumental role in creating one of the most celebrated games of the past decade. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, released in 2015, has sold over 50 million copies and is frequently cited as one of the greatest role-playing games ever made. Notably, CD Projekt Red achieved this success while operating with considerably smaller budgets than many Western AAA competitors, demonstrating that commercial triumph doesn’t necessarily require unlimited resources.

The game’s development philosophy prioritized player experience, narrative depth, and world-building over chasing trending features or mimicking competitors. This approach stands in stark contrast to some modern development strategies, where publishers attempt to incorporate every popular mechanic—from live-service elements to microtransactions—in hopes of maximizing revenue potential. Such decisions, critics argue, often dilute a game’s identity and can alienate the very audiences developers seek to attract.

The Human Cost and Industry Sustainability

Beyond the financial implications, the chase for blockbuster sales carries significant human costs. Development teams face extended crunch periods, job insecurity, and the psychological burden of knowing their livelihoods depend on meeting often unrealistic commercial targets. When games are deemed failures despite solid sales figures, studio closures and layoffs frequently follow, devastating communities of talented developers who created fundamentally good products.

Industry veterans increasingly advocate for more sustainable approaches to game development—smaller teams, more focused scopes, and realistic sales expectations that allow games to succeed without requiring record-breaking numbers. The rise of successful mid-tier and independent studios demonstrates that alternative paths exist, though major publishers have been slow to embrace these models. As development costs continue rising and consumer attention becomes increasingly fragmented, Tomaszkiewicz’s warning about the dangers of chasing sales at all costs may prove prophetic for an industry at a crossroads.