No “interest” amongst publishers for innovative FPS games, says Steve Ellis

Originality and innovation look to be under attack amongst retail titles. This seems to go double for the FPS genre. That said, a lack of innovation doesn’t automatically equal a lack of quality; I for one can’t wait for the next instalment of Call of Battlefield: Modern Medal!

It’s not a new idea, but one of the most discussed (and likely) reasons given for this is simple: money. It’s something reinforced by the revelation that – according to Free Radical Design co-founder and former MD (now one of the minds behind mobile developer Crash Lab) Steve Ellis – “pretty much every FPS loses money”. Speaking to Edge, Ellis reveals: “I spent the whole of 2008 going round talking to publishers trying to sign up Timesplitters 4. There just isn’t the interest there in doing anything that tries to step away from the rules of the genre – no one wants to do something that’s quirky and different, because it’s too much of a risk. And a large part of that is the cost of doing it.[...] pretty much every FPS loses money. I mean, [look at] Crysis 2: great game, but there’s no way it came anywhere close to recouping its dev costs.”

So there you have it, folks; according to Ellis, most FPS games that aren’t part of an established military franchise are losing money. This also seems to confirm that we won’t be seeing a new Timesplitters any time soon. Booooo!

Written by Luke K

He plays lots of videogames, now and again stopping to write about them. He's the editor in chief at Critical Gamer, which fools him into thinking his life has some kind of value. He doesn't have a short temper. If you suggest otherwise, he will punch you in the face.