Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick, the director of the official System Shock remake opened up to FRVR about why immersive sims have become so uncommon in the big-budget gaming space. Their answer cuts straight to business reality: these games are terrifying investments that often only click into place at the very end of development.
The core problem is timing. Immersive sims typically look rough and unfocused during early development stages. The fun and coherence that makes them special often doesn’t materialize until late in production when all the systems finally start working together. This makes milestone-based publisher decisions incredibly difficult.
For publishers evaluating a project, this is a nightmare scenario. Early builds might show disconnected mechanics and unclear gameplay. The magic happens when AI behaviors interact with physics systems which interact with stealth mechanics which interact with level design that supports multiple approaches. But proving that magic exists before you’ve built all the pieces is nearly impossible.
What makes these games so complex
Immersive sims aren’t really a genre but a design philosophy. Games like System Shock, Deus Ex, Dishonored, and Prey (2017) share common DNA: they build reactive worlds with interlocking systems that let players solve problems their own way.
Want to reach a locked room? You might find a key, hack the door, climb through a vent, stack objects to reach a window, or use an ability to teleport inside. The game has to account for all of these solutions and more. That requires flexible level design, robust tools that work in multiple contexts, and massive amounts of testing.
The testing burden alone is staggering. In a linear action game you test the intended path. In an immersive sim you test hundreds of possible interactions because every mechanic can combine with every other mechanic in unexpected ways. This creates what developers call combinatorial explosion where the number of things that can go wrong grows exponentially.
Commercial reality adds another layer of risk. Prey (2017) earned critical praise but reportedly underperformed at retail. Dishonored 2 and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided faced similar commercial headwinds despite strong reviews. Publishers remember these outcomes when deciding what to fund.
The genre’s complexity means higher budgets and longer timelines at a moment when development costs are already ballooning. Meanwhile the audience is perceived as more niche than mainstream action franchises or live service games. That’s a rough pitch for securing tens or hundreds of millions in funding.
Where immersive sims live now
The big-budget immersive sim has become rare but the design approach hasn’t disappeared. Many of these systemic ideas show up in successful mainstream games that don’t carry the immersive sim label. The DNA spreads even when the pure form becomes too risky for major publishers.
The genre has found a home in the indie and mid-budget space where smaller teams can iterate without massive financial pressure. These projects can take risks that AAA publishers won’t touch. They just can’t match the production values and scope that major studio funding enables.
Microsoft’s shutdown of Arkane Austin in 2024 drove home how precarious immersive sim development has become at the publisher level. Studios known for this work face pressure to chase safer commercial bets or pivot to different genres entirely.
