I’ve been playing Disco Elysium lately. It’s a lower-budget game but features some of the most compelling writing and voice acting I’ve ever come across. On the flip side, AAA games with massive budgets often fall short in these areas. Games like Starfield, Veilguard, and several Ubisoft titles are obvious examples, but even acclaimed ones like Resident Evil Village, Spiderman 2, Forbidden West, Hogwarts Legacy, and Dying Light 2 don’t quite hit the mark in storytelling. So, why do these AAA titles struggle with writing and direction despite their huge budgets?
5 Answers
Higher budgets mean they have to reach a wide audience, which often results in playing it very safe with the story. AAA games need to sell a lot of copies to make a profit, and that’s why you end up with more generic themes and stories. On the other hand, indie games can afford to be niche; they can tell unique stories aimed at specific audiences because they have less financial pressure to be mainstream.
Good writing doesn’t come with high budgets; it requires good writers and a unified vision. Even if you have the money to hire the best talent, a committee-based approach often dilutes the storytelling in favor of mass appeal. Game stories usually follow the gameplay, not vice versa. What’s often considered ‘bad’ is a result of a game developed to check commercial boxes rather than focus on crafting a unique narrative.
Pouring more money into a game doesn’t automatically make the story better. A large budget can mean a bigger team, which adds challenges in communication and often results in bland management decisions. Meanwhile, a small, passionate team focuses on making key aspects shine, resulting in a product that excels in those areas. This is why a game with a seemingly modest budget, like Disco Elysium, can sometimes deliver a better story experience than a high-budget AAA title.
It all boils down to the intention and marketing of AAA games. These titles focus more on gameplay and less on narrative depth. That’s what gets financed: innovative mechanics, visual fidelity, and expansive worlds requiring large teams working uniformly. Narrative construction isn’t a priority like it is for lower-budget titles focusing on storytelling, such as Disco Elysium.
One of the main reasons for the less stellar writing in AAA games is that their development process is usually done by a large team. Everyone has their own ideas, and when a story passes through too many people, it often gets watered down to appeal to a larger audience. As a result, what should have been great storytelling gets lost in translation. Also, larger teams lead to more voices and opinions, eventually landing on the ‘safe’ options that ensure financial return rather than pushing creative boundaries.
