How soon before a game release do you enjoy a reveal?

[SWard]

Asked this on the Future Games Show twitter (which is a great account to follow)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565277952778149894

View: https://twitter.com/FutureGamesShow/status/1565277952778149894


How soon before a game release do you enjoy a reveal?


Having seen the inside of games marketing, I know there can be a lot of pressure from shareholders and bizdev folks and stuff outside of any purchasing time periods (e.g announcing in time for black friday or xmas gifting) but the ones that are years out always give me anxiety.


We're also giving away a Streamplfiy bundle over there, which you all should enter if you wanna win some streaming kit!

https://www.gamesradar.com/streamplifyfgs/

 

[ZedClampet]

I don't mind reveals that are years out, but I prefer them to be just a few months out like the Fallout 4 reveal, if I remember correctly. That seems really rare, though. But I actually got more excited about Fallout 4 just because it was releasing pretty soon.

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm fine with reveals years in advance, but don't expect me to actually get excited until maybe 2 months before release. Even then, I've experienced enough broken promises from developers/publishers that I my hype won't reach its highest point until the game has already been released and I can see what other people are saying about it.

 

[Brian Boru]

Years AFTER release, when:
♣ Whichever bugs are going to be fixed, have been—and I can decide if I can live with what's left.
♦ The DLC trickle has finished, and there's a real 'Complete' version.
♥ Mods have been updated for the final version, so I know if I can avoid the usually horrible intro half hour, and what bugs, UI and balance issues have been solved by the community.

What a reveal that would be! "Look everyone, our game doesn't mostly suck any more!"

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I think I prefer 3 months. I don't mind knowing about a game a year out, but I definitely don't want to know about it before that. It's just frustrating.

 

[Colif]

Reveals are only surprising if its a new IP.
Otherwise its almost a given everything will get a sequel.

I think a year or more before its due is too soon... looks at Skyram 2.
Duke Nukem Forever (lol)

I won't include early access as you can play them... otherwise Star Citizen says hello.

I feel Diablo 4 was too soon as its not out until next year... so I can just go back to ignoring it again.

 

[Alm]

I always love a reveal. Shadow drops are very exciting but any time I feel hype if it's something I'm interested in.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

3 months before sounds pretty good, at that point theyll have it working and you'll be able to see gameplay. I dont really like to follow things too closely or play betas, a general idea is enough and then keep the surprise intact.

So many great games already out there and easy to find surprises that I find I dont really get hyped up by new game marketing unless its a sequel to something I really, really loved.

 

[mainer]

Given those choices, I'd go with 3 months, though I think it's exceedingly rare to see a reveal that close to release. The best game reveal for me was Fallout 4 as @ZedClampet mentioned. It was revealed around June of 2015 and then released in November of 2015 and I was so psyched for a new Fallout game and knew I could play it in just a few months, and that's extremely rare these days. Plus, it had one of my favorite promo trailers:

View: https://youtu.be/kH37zkOr7qk


I think with too long a time period between game reveal and game release, there's just so many things that can change in the development cycle of a game, such as over-promotion as was the case with Cyberpunk 2027, or a complete denigration of development and having the game given to another developer, as in the case of Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2.

 

[ZedClampet]

Given those choices, I'd go with 3 months, though I think it's exceedingly rare to see a reveal that close to release. The best game reveal for me was Fallout 4 as @ZedClampet mentioned. It was revealed around June of 2015 and then released in November of 2015 and I was so psyched for a new Fallout game and knew I could play it in just a few months, and that's extremely rare these days. Plus, it had one of my favorite promo trailers:

View: https://youtu.be/kH37zkOr7qk


I think with too long a time period between game reveal and game release, there's just so many things that can change in the development cycle of a game, such as over-promotion as was the case with Cyberpunk 2027, or a complete denigration of development and having the game given to another developer, as in the case of Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2.

Thanks for the trailer. I love old music and had forgotten about The Wanderer. Fallout always makes the best trailers, IMO. I still vividly remember the New Vegas trailer and even liked the Fallout 76 "Almost Heaven" trailer. My mother was from West Virginia and loved that song. I may get a little blurry eyed when I hear it.

I got bought New Vegas for my nephew, and he didn't like it *pouty face*, but he's come around to it all these years later.

 

[mainer]

My mother was from West Virginia and loved that song.

I lived with my uncle in Williamstown, WVA for a while when I was younger, and I have many fond memories of that area.

I got bought New Vegas for my nephew, and he didn't like it *pouty face*, but he's come around to it all these years later.

Good to know that he's seen the light. It can be a bit rough graphically for those new to it, even when modded, but the gameplay and quests/choices are still some of the best of the 1st person Fallout games.

 

[ZedClampet]

I lived with my uncle in Williamstown, WVA for a while when I was younger, and I have many fond memories of that area.


Good to know that he's seen the light. It can be a bit rough graphically for those new to it, even when modded, but the gameplay and quests/choices are still some of the best of the 1st person Fallout games.

I need to replay it. I remember there was this story connected to a casino outside of the main area that I thought was absolutely hilarious. I think it was sort of a Bonnie and Clyde type story, but that's all I remember of it.

 

[Frindis]

I used to love finding out everything about a game, even if it was a couple of years before the release. Now I am more interested in getting them as soon as possible and around the 3-month mark & what @ZedClampet referred to with Fallout 4. Fallout 4 was how it should be, straight down to the core of giving something to the gamers without having to milk every goddamn penny! Here is hoping Obsidian Entertainment might just do something similar with their upcoming RPG game: Avowed. Not heard any news for a long time, so it would just be perfect for them to say: Coming this Christmas!

 

[Johnway]

Personally i would like reveals for games when they are ideally months out to finish or at least a point of absolute commitment and in the works. What i DON'T want to see are trailers to hype (announcement trailers) or trailers with no ingame footage and just movies.

Too often i see games too early and it either dies or it changes from all recognition from the initial game and makes the previous hype/previews an absolute waste of time. Beyond good and evil 2 i'm looking at you. Do we even have a game or has money just been wasted hyping nothing?

 

[DXCHASE]

I cant seem to enter the contest, its telling me my region is locked? I dont have a VPN on atm.

I like reveals within 3-6 months before release. If its something i want, it gives me the right amount of time to plan on making time for it when it releases. Destiny 2 does a pretty good job with this.

Doing something like what CDPR did with Cyberpunk? No way, that was probably the worst approach to releasing a game ive ever seen. They started teasing it what? 7 or 8 years or something like that before it released? Nah, anything over a year or so i can do without. I guess maybe if its a remaster of a classic, i dont mind knowing a long time ahead of time because its something i already played. (Gothic remake/Mafia remake for example).

Now if the game industry could only normalize not putting a release date out so the anxiety of pushing back release dates goes away. Nothing more annoying about this than seeing a game being advertised (like cyberpunk) and having the date get pushed back several times. Just say its in development until its actually ready to be released.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I think a year or more before its due is too soon... looks at Skyram 2.
Duke Nukem Forever (lol)

The Elder Scrolls VI is the one that frustrates me the most. Do you guys realize they made that announcement over 4 years ago, and they still haven't even started on it?

But I'll say this, at this point I think TES VI will come out before Metroid Prime 4, which was announced 5 years ago, and we've never heard a word about it since then, except that they had to scrap it and start over with another developer.

 

[ZedClampet]

The Elder Scrolls VI is the one that frustrates me the most. Do you guys realize they made that announcement over 4 years ago, and they still haven't even started on it?

That wasn't an announcement. They were just trying to distract people from Fallout 76. All they did was show a mountain and play the theme song, which probably took someone 10 minutes to throw together. It was just bizarre. It was like saying, "Don't be mad. Some day we'll make this..."

 

[Brian Boru]

I think Half Life 3 nailed this.

so many things that can change in the development cycle of a game

Yeah, that's what cured me of reveals, and later of pre-orders, and later of buying on release, and later of buying at full price, and later of… um, what comes next? Pretty sure I'm cured of that too, whatever it is.

Command & Conquer 4
Far Cry 2
Crysis 2
Supreme Commander 2
Civilization 5
Far Cry 5

All had nasty surprises for me, none of which were evident in reveals, release blurb, or early reviews. Hence my position in post #4.

if the game industry could only normalize not putting a release date out so the anxiety of pushing back release dates goes away

That depends on who has the power in a company. I expect it's Marketing in most AAA game companies, so you end up with ridiculous dates and gameplay promises which no one else has signed off on.
[ETA "AAA" for clarity]

When I worked in a company which made software, the rule of thumb was to estimate how long a project would take, and multiply by 3. Seems to still hold, so you get terrible dev working conditions for 12-18 months, or a low quality release, or both.

Only advance reveals I'll take notice of are for remasters—NB not remakes. There's a limited mostly known amount of work to be done, and the gameplay is already known.

 

[ZedClampet]

That depends on who has the power in a company. I expect it's Marketing in most game companies, so you end up with ridiculous dates and gameplay promises which no one else has signed off on.

I suppose you are right in some very well-known companies, at least that seems to be the most common perception. I've never worked for a game company, and the one my brother worked for isn't a good example, but I would be absolutely amazed to find out that a developer's marketing department has a lot of power outside of huge, crappy companies like EA, where they very clearly have too much power and often times even decide what types of games are made--or at least they have too much influence on the real decision makers. In fact, that's probably the defining feature of a terrible game company. But my guess, and it's just a guess, is that in the midsized and small developer's world where most of the games are being made, marketing is just the support department that it should be. At least I hope that's the case. Would be very depressing to find out otherwise. I mean, they are always going to have influence, but to be the power in a company? Sheesh. That would suck, and I've known a lot of people who were in marketing including my wife (that's where her degree is, but she's never actually worked in marketing). Oh, and me. My first job in banking was in marketing, but all we did was provide data. I never really think of that job as marketing, but it definitely was.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

That wasn't an announcement. They were just trying to distract people from Fallout 76. All they did was show a mountain and play the theme song, which probably took someone 10 minutes to throw together. It was just bizarre. It was like saying, "Don't be mad. Some day we'll make this..."

You're right. That's exactly what it was. A 10 minute, thrown together presentation to shut people up. And people studied that generic presentation to try to figure out a location of the game.

 

[Brian Boru]

in the midsized and small developer's world

Agreed, I added an ETA to clarify I meant AAA companies. However, they have undue influence on the industry culture, so will likely affect smaller guys.

 

[Colif]

I don't mind them provided game is actually released afterwards

Unbended was announced and then never released. It would have been the real Sacred 3 as was the original game team. But people died and it will never happen

So too far out can lead to changes. Better to announce when its actually finished. But then... are games ever actually finished these days... but thats another discussion.

 

[Valkanen]

Typically 3 - 6 months, but prior to a properly finished release. None of this, it's got a million bugs & glitches but we'll fix them as we go along for the next 12 months.

I'd be interested to see games not be revealed and announced. You login STEAM one day and there's a "Today's Releases" page with the new games and nobody knows a thing about them. Obviously it wouldn't help with the marketing aspects, but would definitely have some fun surprises.

 

[Colif]

thats the opposite of hype.

Need somewhere in between no announcement and "This is the most amazing thing on earth, you have to play this before you die" (refer No Mans Sky (before release, not now after 20 expansions))

You know, somewhere sane.

 

[Valkanen]

thats the opposite of hype.

Need somewhere in between no announcement and "This is the most amazing thing on earth, you have to play this before you die" (refer No Mans Sky (before release, not now after 20 expansions))

You know, somewhere sane.

You've done well not to mention Diablo Immortal as an example of anticipation.