A delayed next generation of consoles is "better for us", says The Blood of Dawnwalker director, as price rises continue to plague the industry

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the director of the upcoming vampire-themed role-playing game The Blood of Dawnwalker, believes that a delay in the launch of next-generation consoles would ultimately benefit developers like his studio. Tomaszkiewicz, who previously served as the director of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, is currently leading development on the new project at independent studio Rebel Wolves.

According to a report by Eurogamer, Tomaszkiewicz explained that a longer gap before the next hardware transition would be "better for us." This perspective comes at a time when the video game industry is grappling with unprecedented hardware pricing dynamics and supply chain pressures.

The Challenges of New Platforms

For developers, transitioning to brand-new console hardware requires significant time, effort, and financial investment. Tomaszkiewicz pointed out the inherent difficulties in shifting to unreleased systems, noting that "Always, a new platform is a new challenge."

Developing for unestablished systems forces studios to adapt to new APIs, developer tools, and hardware constraints, which can distract from the core game design process. For a studio working on its debut title like Rebel Wolves, having more time to build on current-generation platforms allows the team to maximize the potential of existing technology without the immediate pressure of optimizing for untested hardware.

Unprecedented Hardware Market Pressures

The discussion around delaying the next generation of consoles is closely tied to the current economic landscape of gaming hardware. Typically, console prices drop as a generation matures and manufacturing processes become more efficient. However, the current console cycle has broken this trend, marking the first generation where base console prices have actually increased after launch rather than decreased.

These ongoing price hikes are heavily linked to severe component shortages. As noted by Eurogamer, these shortages are being driven in part by generative AI datacenters, which are consuming massive quantities of the available component supplies.

Rising Cost Speculation

With manufacturing costs remaining high, there is growing industry concern about the consumer cost of future hardware. Unconfirmed industry talk suggests that a next-generation system, such as a potential PlayStation 6, could reach prices as high as $1,000 at retail.

While console manufacturers have not officially confirmed any next-generation delays or pricing structures, a prolonged current generation would give consumers more time to adopt existing hardware and allow developers to continue targeting a stable, established player base.

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