Conceiving a brilliant idea is only the beginning; successfully monetizing it is a hurdle that many fail to clear.
Tim Cain, one of the original visionaries behind the Fallout series, frequently shares his industry insights through his personal vlog. Recently, he took the time to explain why he has stepped away from establishing new intellectual properties.
I possess a deep love for game development, so people genuinely struggle to understand why I don’t create new franchises. The reality is that others have profited from the IPs I built far more than I ever have. And I don’t mean by a small margin; it’s vastly more… Individuals who simply work on the teams for franchises I pioneered years ago earn more than I ever received for creating those IPs in the first place.
Cain admitted that while there might be a way to address these financial disparities, he isn’t “particularly skilled at that side of things,” identifying himself primarily as a “pure artist.”
On the whole, however, he remains satisfied with his creative journey:
If you’re truly curious about what I want—I am still making video games, I love them, and they make me happy. I’ve grown tired of enriching other people through the fruits of my own creations. Can you give me a reason—other than purely selfish ones, like “we want something new,” or “others want to make even more money”—why I shouldn’t just keep creating what I love?
The developer expressed a desire for a more equitable distribution of profits within the gaming industry, drawing a comparison to the art world: “When a painting is sold, everyone involved should benefit from its success.”
Source: iXBT.games