Why don't developers release games at Christmas anymore?

[Gorgeous_Joe]

A Loooooooooooong time ago when I was a lad I remember getting the latest game on the commodore 64 every christmas but now nothing and not just because I don't have that commodore 64 anymore.

There just doesn't seem to be a 'winter release' for games anymore. Are development schedules that hard to keep to that they miss this lucrative market every year? or do children prefer to spend their summers indoors playing video games now so they release then instead? I must admit I tend to buy spring/summer releases later in the year on sale as its damn cold up north and finding excuses to stay indoors is preferable.

Maybe I just don't play the games genres that are released around the festive season so I never realise what is on offer but aside from a few indie games there doesn't seem to be anything new over the Christmas period in the steam sales charts.

or......is this just a western problem being as Steam is a global thing and obviously not everyone celebrates christmas.

As I say I remember the festive season and leading up to it being a bumper time for game releases but it seems now there is very little or nothing at all. Does anyone know the answer why?

[cinedine]

Games hardly if ever released on Christmas.

Earning are split by quarter. Christmas falls into Q4 (Or Q3 talking about fiscal years), which starts with October. To maximize revenue on the earning calls games are released in October/eraly November for the Christmas business. Which also encompasses Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

[999999999]

Really?

https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/26/16693918/video-game-releases-for-december-2017

[Satoru]

What are you talking about? Most AAA games are front loaded into Oct/Nov explicitly so they sell well during Christmas

The only companies that tend not to do that are Japanese ones because

1) Christmas isn't really a gift giving thing its a 'couples holiday'
2) They prefer to front load games into their Q4, which in Asia ends in March not December

[999999999]

PUBG went 1.0 on the 21st.

[Dakota]

Games get dropped in November, October in preparation for Holiday season. Releasing on, or just before Christmas can lead to a lot of problems and increases risks in distribution and other areas. Don't want to end up with shortages or other problems

[LordKrudell]

I've seen a lot of new material fluttering friend

[Gorgeous_Joe]

Ah the eloquent and informative steam community at work........

[Powellinho.72]

omg EA or 2K games didnt release a game on xmas day. the whole xmas time no games got released at all......

[Powellinho.72]

only AAA publishers exist and make games.....

[76561198407601200]

Gorgeous_Joe님이 먼저 게시:

A Loooooooooooong time ago when I was a lad I remember getting the latest game on the commodore 64 every christmas but now nothing and not just because I don't have that commodore 64 anymore.

There just doesn't seem to be a 'winter release' for games anymore. Are development schedules that hard to keep to that they miss this lucrative market every year? or do children prefer to spend their summers indoors playing video games now so they release then instead? I must admit I tend to buy spring/summer releases later in the year on sale as its damn cold up north and finding excuses to stay indoors is preferable.

Maybe I just don't play the games genres that are released around the festive season so I never realise what is on offer but aside from a few indie games there doesn't seem to be anything new over the Christmas period in the steam sales charts.

or......is this just a western problem being as Steam is a global thing and obviously not everyone celebrates christmas.

As I say I remember the festive season and leading up to it being a bumper time for game releases but it seems now there is very little or nothing at all. Does anyone know the answer why?

Having been from the atari era myself, i can say I have noticed how game releases have been changed over the years and it's a shame that you didn't noticed it yourself as well.