John Romero thinks the games industry is heading toward smaller, episodic releases, and he has a blunt message for studios tempted to build their own technology: don’t. The Doom co-creator laid out both points in an interview with UnGeek, published Oct. 31 from gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show 2026 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok.
The comments land at a tense moment for big-budget development. Production cycles keep stretching, publishers are wary of nine-figure bets, and Romero’s own studio recently shrank a planned team of about 110 people to roughly 15-16 on a redesigned shooter, as we covered in our report on his new publisher deal. He speaks from lived experience, not from the sidelines.
This analysis walks through what Romero said, what UnGeek’s account of the interview does and does not establish, and why the advice matters for developers, publishers and players. It also separates reported fact from our own reading, and it closes with five predictions and a FAQ.
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What John Romero Said in Bangkok
UnGeek’s interview, written by Nicolo Manaloto, ranges across a long list of topics. The headline claims are the two that gave the piece its title. Romero expects the industry to move more toward smaller, episodic releases, and he advises developers not to make their own engine.
Around those two points, UnGeek reports he covered development times, AA games, AI-generated content, cloud gaming, monetization and Minecraft. The discussion reportedly tied the shift toward smaller releases to the lengthening development times and ballooning budgets of big triple-A titles. That is the through-line worth holding onto. Romero is not arguing that big games will vanish. He is arguing that the economics push publishers toward projects that are cheaper to start, quicker to ship and easier to continue or drop based on how players respond.
The interview came from a keynote-style appearance at one of Asia’s larger game events, which gives the remarks a development-community audience rather than an investor one. That framing matters. Romero was speaking to people who make games, many of them on small teams, and the advice reads that way.
| Topic | Romero’s position, as reported by UnGeek | Our read |
|---|---|---|
| Release format | Industry moving toward smaller, episodic releases | A response to long cycles and rising budgets |
| Engines | Do not build your own, license one | Protects scarce team time for the actual game |
| AA games | More AA titles as publishers cut AAA risk | Middle tier regains attention |
| AI content | Worried about “slop games” flooding stores | Discovery, not creation, becomes the bottleneck |
| Cloud gaming | Doubts mass-market potential | Latency limits fast-paced genres |
| Monetization | Prefers optional purchases, praised Arc Raiders | Goodwill as a revenue strategy |
| Design template | Minecraft as the model | Depth from simple, learnable systems |
The Netflix and Apple Argument for Episodic Releases
Romero’s comparison is to streaming. He pointed to the way Netflix and Apple put out series, and UnGeek reports he sees players drifting away from “destination games” that demand years of commitment in favor of on-demand experiences. A series asks for an evening. A destination game asks for a season of your life.
The logic follows from how people already consume media. Few viewers sign up for a single ten-year project. They sample, they bail out, they return when a new season drops. Episodic releases give a studio the same loop. Ship a first chapter, read the reception, then decide whether the next one deserves funding.
For a publisher, that loop converts one giant gamble into a string of smaller ones. Each chapter generates real data on retention, reviews and sales before the next check is written. For a developer, it means earlier revenue and earlier feedback, though it also means living with public judgment at every step.
There is a catch that Romero’s framing glosses over. Streaming works because the library is always one click away. Games compete for hours, not just money, and an episode released into a crowded storefront can vanish within days. Episodic structure lowers the cost of starting. It does not guarantee anyone shows up.
Why Publishers Are Pushing Smaller Bets
UnGeek reports that Romero sees publishers leaning toward lower-risk, smaller projects instead of massive service games. He named Raw Fury and Thunderful as examples of companies that release games on contained budgets and then decide on sequels based on how the first one performs.
That description matches a broader mood in the business. Large flagship releases carry enormous fixed costs, and one miss can reshape a company. We have seen the extreme end of that anxiety in the reported $500 million budget for Gears of War: E-Day, a figure that makes any publisher think twice about the next equivalent bet.
The AA Math
Romero expects more AA titles to appear as publishers trim AAA exposure. According to UnGeek, he put AA budgets at $50-100 million and said even a $25-30 million investment is a serious risk for many studios. Those numbers deserve a pause. A figure many readers would call modest is, in his telling, already dangerous.
The takeaway: the safe zone for funding keeps shrinking. If $25-30 million feels risky, the case for episodic chunks gets stronger, because each installment can cost a fraction of a full game while still building a franchise.
| Tier | Budget marker | Source | Risk profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flagship AAA | Reported $500 million for Gears of War: E-Day | Reports covered by tech-insider.org | One miss can reshape a publisher |
| AA | $50-100 million | Romero, via UnGeek | Serious exposure for most studios |
| Mid-size bet | $25-30 million | Romero, via UnGeek | Already risky for many teams |
| Romero Games redesign | About 15-16 people vs about 110 planned | Reports covered by tech-insider.org | Scope cut by roughly 85% |
| Episodic release | Not quantified in the interview | Analysis | Risk spread across installments |
Don’t Make Your Own Engine: The Core Advice
Romero’s engine advice is short and unambiguous. UnGeek reports he told developers to license an engine, because the goal is to make a game, not an engine. The reasoning is about opportunity cost. Every programmer-month spent on rendering, tooling or asset pipelines is a month not spent on level design, balancing or polish.
He singled out Unreal Engine for its access terms. As UnGeek relays it, Unreal is free for indie developers until revenue passes $1 million, and it ships across all platforms. Treat that as Romero’s description rather than a licensing citation, since Epic’s terms can change. Anyone budgeting a project should read Epic’s current agreement directly.
The advice also fits his current work. Reports on his redesigned shooter say it runs on Unreal Engine 5.8, so he is practicing what he preaches. A studio of 15-16 people has no spare capacity to maintain proprietary technology.
What Licensing Costs and What It Saves
The table below compares the main routes a small team can take. The Unreal row reflects Romero’s remarks. The Unity, Godot and in-house rows are general background, not statements from the interview.
| Option | Cost model | Best fit | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unreal Engine | Free for indies until $1 million revenue (per Romero) | 3D games shipping across many platforms | Licensing terms can change |
| Unity | Free personal tier plus paid plans | Mobile, 2D and small 3D projects | Trust damage from the 2023 Runtime Fee plan, later cancelled |
| Godot | Free, open source | Small teams that want no royalties | Console ports lean on third-party help |
| In-house engine | No license fee, but engine programmer salaries | Studios with unusual technical needs | Engine work competes with game work for years |
For a deeper side-by-side, see our guide to the best game engines for indie developers.
Romero’s Own History With Engines
The advice carries weight because Romero lived through the other side. He co-founded id Software, whose in-house technology powered Doom and Quake and became the foundation for a wave of other games. The Quake engine, for example, underpinned the original Half-Life, a fact that shows how engine work can become a business of its own.
That history cuts both ways. Id’s engines were extraordinary because the company had John Carmack and a team devoted to the problem. Few studios in 2026 have anything like that, and fewer still can afford to treat engine development as a side project. Romero’s counsel is aimed at the many, not the exceptional few.
The era also matters. In the early 1990s, no off-the-shelf option existed. Building technology was the only route to a game that looked and ran like Doom. Today a free or low-cost engine ships with lighting, physics and animation systems that took id years to invent. The calculus has flipped.
Episodic Games Are Not New: From Doom’s Shareware to Telltale
Romero’s prediction has deep roots. Doom itself launched in 1993 with a free first episode distributed as shareware, and players paid for the rest. That model was episodic in all but name, and Romero helped build it.
Later waves tried again. Valve released Half-Life 2: Episode One in 2006, and Telltale popularized chapter-by-chapter storytelling with The Walking Dead in 2012. Results were mixed. Telltale proved audiences would buy installments, but long gaps between chapters often drained momentum. Romero’s own Sigil, an unofficial extra episode for the original Doom, shows how the format still resonates with fans.
So the lesson from history is not that episodic releases always win. It is that cadence matters. Players tolerate smaller chapters when they arrive on a predictable schedule, and they walk away when the wait stretches. Any publisher chasing Romero’s vision should study those earlier stumbles before copying the structure.
The Early Access Connection
Steam’s Early Access program is already a rough cousin of the episodic idea. Games ship unfinished, grow through updates and lean on player feedback. Our coverage of Early Access reaching 13.7% of Steam releases noted 2,924 Early Access launches in 2026 through mid-October, according to reporting from GamesIndustry.biz and LevelUp, 18% above 2025.
Those figures show a market already comfortable with partial releases. They also carry a warning. Players increasingly judge Early Access titles like finished games, which means an episodic release cannot hide behind the label of work in progress. Each installment has to stand on its own.
Romero’s framing suggests a more disciplined version of the same instinct. Instead of releasing an unfinished whole, release a finished part. A complete, polished first chapter is a stronger pitch than a rough build with a roadmap.
AI “Slop Games” and the Discovery Problem
On AI, UnGeek reports that Romero worries about a flood of AI-generated games clogging Steam and mobile stores. He also suggested that “AI disclosure” labels could lose their meaning if machine-made content overwhelms the shelves. In his view, AI is mainly a helper for small teams rather than a transformative force.
The concern ties neatly to the episodic argument. If creation gets cheaper, supply explodes, and the scarce resource becomes attention. A studio releasing small chapters into a sea of cheap titles needs a reason for players to notice it. Craft, reputation and community turn into the moat.
The industry itself is split on how much AI to admit. Our piece on the Xbox AI claim, with six studios using it and three refusing, shows how uneven adoption already looks. Romero’s position sits on the cautious end. Use the tools, but do not expect them to replace design judgment.
Cloud Gaming, Monetization and the Minecraft Template
Romero was equally direct about cloud gaming. UnGeek reports he doubts it can reach the mass market, citing latency problems for fast-paced games and the heavy infrastructure costs borne by providers such as Microsoft. In his telling, cloud works best for slower titles with limited mainstream pull.
On money, he favors models where purchases feel optional rather than required for progress. He praised Arc Raiders for not pushing spending in his face, arguing that players buy because they love the game. That is an old argument in new clothes. Goodwill converts better than pressure.
Then comes Minecraft. Romero called it the ideal template, according to UnGeek, praising its depth, accessibility and the way building fits into play. The point is that complexity can grow out of a simple surface. A small team can copy that principle without copying the budget.
Market Impact: Who Gains and Who Loses
If Romero is right, the winners are mid-size publishers and tightly run studios. Companies that can fund, ship and iterate on contained projects gain an edge over those whose strategy depends on a few giant launches. Engine vendors also win, since a wave of small teams means a wave of licensees.
The losers are less obvious. Studios that sunk years into proprietary technology may find it harder to justify. Live-service operators chasing endless engagement face a market tilting toward finite, well-paced experiences. And players who want one enormous, uninterrupted epic may find fewer of them, or find them at a higher price of admission.
Hiring follows the same pattern. Smaller projects mean smaller teams, and the Romero Games example of roughly 15-16 people against a plan for about 110 hints at the staffing shift. For broader context on where the sector is heading, browse our gaming coverage.
What Remains Unverified
Several points deserve caution. The interview figures come from UnGeek’s account, and we have not independently confirmed the exact wording of every remark. The $50-100 million and $25-30 million budget ranges are Romero’s estimates, not audited numbers. The Unreal Engine revenue threshold is his summary of Epic’s terms.
Nothing in the interview, as reported, announces a specific episodic project from Romero Games, and no title, platform or release date has been disclosed for his shooter. Readers should treat any claim that he is building an episodic game as unsupported. The remarks describe where he thinks the industry is going, not what his studio has committed to ship.
Five Predictions
The following are our own forecasts, offered as analysis rather than reported fact.
- More chapter-based launches. Expect more publishers to test first-chapter releases and use sales data to green-light the rest, especially among mid-tier labels.
- AA gets louder. Marketing budgets will shift toward AA titles as publishers talk up the middle tier as a safer home for new ideas.
- Fewer proprietary engines at small studios. Teams under a few dozen people will increasingly standardize on licensed or open-source tools.
- Disclosure fights intensify. Storefronts will face growing pressure to improve AI labeling and discovery tools as low-effort releases pile up.
- Cadence becomes the metric. Studios that ship episodes on a reliable schedule will earn trust, while those with long gaps will repeat Telltale-style fatigue.
FAQ
What did John Romero say about the future of games? According to UnGeek, he believes the industry will move toward smaller, episodic releases, comparing the trend to how Netflix and Apple release series.
Where was the John Romero interview recorded? UnGeek reports it came from gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show 2026 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, and the piece ran on Oct. 31.
Why does Romero say developers should not make their own engine? His reasoning, as reported, is that the goal is to make a game. Licensing an engine frees limited team time for design and polish.
Which engine did Romero point to? UnGeek says he highlighted Unreal Engine, noting that it is free for indie developers until revenue passes $1 million. Check Epic’s current terms before relying on that.
What AA budget range did Romero mention? He put AA games at $50-100 million and said even $25-30 million is a risky investment for many studios, per UnGeek.
Is Romero announcing an episodic game? No. The interview, as reported, describes his view of industry direction. It does not announce an episodic project, and his shooter has no disclosed title or date.
What does Romero think about AI in games? He is concerned about “slop games” crowding stores and sees AI mostly as a tool for small teams, according to UnGeek.
