Games nowadays are often updated for a long time (e.g. Factorio), so the initial launch date is less relevant. I would argue that indie games are doing really well right now, and the AAA gaming companies' reputations are in the gutter.
EA, DICE, Take Two, Ubisoft, Bioware, Konami, even the once vaunted CDProjekt Red's reputations are in tatters (of course, they still sell tons of games). Gamers are tired of copy and paste money grabs, full of bugs on launch and overhyped to the moon.
The accessibility of game development tools to almost anyone globally, the pandemic, and the relative ease of digital distribution is a boon to indie game makers (Steam, Epic, Itch, GOG, Indiegala....).
Valheim, Among Us, Project Zomboid (launched 2013, becoming much more popular recently), Escape from Tarkov are all examples of indie games doing well. Check out /r/patientgamers and related subs and you'll see more examples.
>Gamers are tired of copy and paste money grabs, full of bugs on launch and overhyped to the moon.
If this was actually true, the companies you mentioned wouldn't be selling a ton of games and gambling gimmicks didn't need to get banned for companies to stop putting them in their games. In reality, successful companies are better off iterating on their existing games and systems a few times until the sales die down, then maybe release a few later for nostalgia and move on. It's much less effort, less risky, and it plays better into the expectations most people have.
This has been going on for well over a decade. It's not like people haven't had the chance to see the trends yet.
EA, DICE, Take Two, Ubisoft, Bioware, Konami, even the once vaunted CDProjekt Red's reputations are in tatters (of course, they still sell tons of games). Gamers are tired of copy and paste money grabs, full of bugs on launch and overhyped to the moon.
The accessibility of game development tools to almost anyone globally, the pandemic, and the relative ease of digital distribution is a boon to indie game makers (Steam, Epic, Itch, GOG, Indiegala....).
Valheim, Among Us, Project Zomboid (launched 2013, becoming much more popular recently), Escape from Tarkov are all examples of indie games doing well. Check out /r/patientgamers and related subs and you'll see more examples.