Iconic Devs Say the Industry Feels ‘Crashier’ Now Than the Actual Video Game Crash of the 80s

John and Brenda Romero, best known for their work on DOOM and Wizardry respectively, have passed comment on the current state of the game industry.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, the couple — who founded Romero Games about 10 years ago — speak about the current difficulties the medium is facing, in light of their own struggles to secure funding and keep the lights on at their studio.

“I feel like the industry’s in a really horrible place,” Brenda says.

She compares the current situation to the United States video game crash of 1983, when low quality games flooded the market, stacking up on store shelves and spooking retailers away from supporting home consoles.

“I mean, we were there in the 80s for the crash, and this is definitely crashier. There are so few people that have not been affected, or their partner’s affected, or they’re worried about being affected. It’s a really difficult time right now.”

Over the last few years, there has been a mass shrinkage across numerous developers and publishers, with many studios faced with layoffs or being shut down entirely.

John Romero points out that it isn’t even due to failed games, using Battlefield 6 as an example.

He says it did “really, really well” for EA — notably one of last year’s best-selling games — but the publisher still laid off staff across the Battlefield Studios group. “I don’t understand what that’s all about.”

It was falsely reported last year that Romero Games had shut down; in truth, the company lost funding for its game after its publishing partner, Microsoft, pulled out.

The studio remains open and active, but only after severely cutting its staff from over a hundred to just nine.

“I know that we’re going to be OK for the next little bit,” Brenda says. “And if something falls over sideways, and 2027 is another ‘exciting’ year, we’ve both had a good run.”