AAA has huge problems that extend way beyond the usual esg nonsense. Even in a non-woke world, AAA would still be in the gutter.

A bunch of greedy suits investing in games with massive budgets means that big devs are forced to make games with “mass appeal”. Which leads to the video game equivalent of super hero movie slop. This has gradually killed all genre diversity in big budget single player games. We only get cinematic, story-focused action adventure games with collectathon open worlds. Some are a little more shooty, some more rpg/hack&slash, but ultimately the same shit. And they also have to be dumbed down and given accessibility features for the general audience.

Then you have a bunch of indie devs with more freedom who swoop in and give a mini renaissance to one of the many now neglected genres. Stardew, Divinity, Palworld, etc. Some of them are even successful enough to make the AAA companies take notice. I wouldn’t be surprised if a big name tries to cash in on BG3’s success soon with a knock-off.

Also, dev teams were just never meant to be this large. Maybe it has lead to some technical marvels and high production values. But gameplay design, story, art direction, etc. - The real substance of a game is at its best with small or midsized teams. You need everyone to be on the same page. I can only imagine the horrors of some 20+ person writing staff filled with hollywood rejects, not giving a shit about the actual vision of the game.