Starfield Developer Says Players Are Sick of Long Games

A former Starfield developer reveals player fatigue with excessively long AAA games. This saturation of the market with lengthy titles, the argument goes, is fueling a resurgence of shorter gaming experiences.

Will Shen, a veteran Bethesda developer who worked on Starfield, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, observes a growing trend: player exhaustion with games demanding dozens of hours of commitment. While long games like Starfield and Skyrim have enjoyed success, Shen suggests this very success has contributed to a market overload. He points out that many players don't complete games exceeding ten hours, highlighting the importance of completion for story engagement and overall product satisfaction.

In a Kiwi Talkz interview (via Gamespot), Shen notes the industry's arrival at a point where a significant portion of players are tiring of lengthy experiences. He cites the popularity of shorter games as a direct consequence of this "AAA fatigue." The success of titles like Mouthwashing, with its concise playtime, is presented as a prime example; Shen believes its reception would have been drastically different had it been padded with extraneous content.

Despite the growing appeal of shorter games, the dominance of lengthy AAA titles isn't ending anytime soon. Starfield's 2024 DLC, Shattered Space, and a rumored 2025 expansion demonstrate the continued commitment to expansive content in the AAA space.