Hype is the industry's biggest villain

Hype has always been linked to video games. Waiting for a release, discussing trailers, and imagining possibilities is part of the culture. This enthusiasm helps communities form and gives commercial strength to large projects.

The problem arises when expectations grow so much that the game ceases to be evaluated on what it delivers. In today's article, we'll talk about how all the excitement surrounding an entertainment product can cause serious harm, both to the player and to the studios.

Large companies have learned to keep their games in circulation long before their release. A short teaser, a quote from the director, or a behind-the-scenes image can sustain weeks of conversation. This constant presence helps sell games, keeps investors attentive, and places the game at the center of the competition for attention.

Strategy has its limits. The longer a game is imagined, the greater the risk that the public will create an unattainable version of it. Marketing suggests scale, tone, and ambition. The community fills in the rest with desire. In the end, the released game needs to face an expectation shaped by years of waiting.

Cyberpunk 2077 became the strongest example of this collision. CD Projekt RED came from the prestige of The Witcher 3 and presented Night City as one of the most ambitious open worlds of the generation. The presence of Keanu Reeves in the campaign increased the project's reach and transformed every new development into an event.

The launch, in December 2020, exposed a huge difference between the image built and the experience encountered by many players, especially on PS4 and Xbox One. Bugs, performance glitches, and technical problems dominated the conversation. The crisis gained momentum when Sony removed the game from the PlayStation Store and offered refunds to digital buyers.

Currently, Cyberpunk 2077 has evolved considerably with updates, next-gen versions, and the Phantom Liberty expansion. Its recovery deserves recognition. However, its debut remains a warning sign for the industry. A game can improve over time, but the first impression still weighs heavily in the public's memory.

No Man’s Sky suffered a different kind of setback. Hello Games presented a space adventure with procedurally generated planets and an exploration proposition that sparked a lot of curiosity. The marketing sold discovery, scale, and freedom. The public began to imagine a much larger experience than what was available at launch.

The initial reception, in 2016, was harsh. Many players complained about expected features, limited variety, and systems less deep than they appeared in the presentations. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority reviewed complaints about the game's marketing and concluded that the advertisements didn’t violate the rules. The legal decision, however, didn’t erase the feeling of disappointment.

Hello Games chose to continue working. The game received major updates for years and became one of the best-known cases of recovery in the industry. This turnaround changed many people's relationship with No Man’s Sky, although it also left a clear lesson about communication.

The lesson wasn't the same as with Cyberpunk 2077, but the ending was. Communication with fans made such a difference that it managed to place it among the best ongoing games in existence. And the updates continue to be free.

Beyond this type of hype that affects players and the studio, there's the kind where the venom borders on criminal behavior.

Leaks play a significant role in this problem. They've gone from being mere behind-the-scenes curiosities to fueling engagement. A video taken out of context can already generate analyses, accusations, and hasty conclusions. The public consumes this material as if they were seeing a finished sample.

This happened with the most important parts of the story of The Last of Us Part II, one of the biggest games of recent years.

GTA 6 went through one of the most well-known cases in the recent industry. In 2022, development materials appeared online before the game's official presentation. Rockstar confirmed the leak and stated that work would continue normally. The damage to communication, however, had already been done.

A game in production often has temporary animations, incomplete systems, and visual elements still being tested. This type of material makes sense within the studio. Outside of it, it becomes ammunition for public judgment. The work loses the chance to present itself with context, rhythm, and intention.

Leaks also take away part of the player experience. Planned discoveries become spoilers. Trailer surprises lose impact. Teams that spent years preparing a presentation have to react to a conversation that arose from stolen or incomplete content. The industry becomes more anxious, and the public starts treating behind-the-scenes content as a launch.

Want to go further? Marvel's Wolverine, the games prepared for the Spider-Man universe, and the future arrival of the X-Men to the "Insomniacverse". It's lost its appeal. Nothing reaches people as it should. Hype, in these moments, is a poisonous dopamine.

The hype surrounding major releases also affects smaller games. The competition for attention has become brutal. An independent project can arrive well-reviewed, with good ideas and solid production, yet still disappear within the same timeframe as a gigantic name. Visibility has become as important a barrier as budget.

Hollow Knight: Silksong strongly demonstrated this effect. After years of waiting, the announcement of its release date put several indie games in a delicate position. Some developers decided to postpone releases to escape the shadow of Team Cherry's game. The apprehension was understandable: competing with one of the most anticipated indie games in the world could reduce coverage, streams, and organic conversation.

Want a more recent example? GTA 6 simply emptied the month of November. Only Devolver Digital wants to pick this fight, but we don't know how. As a consequence, September simply has Control Resonant, Marvel's Wolverine, Silent Hill Townfall, Onimusha, and whoever else manages to see the light of day.

The public starts following what everyone else follows. Different proposals are left for later, go on sale too early, or are discovered too late. The hype creates an invisible queue (your backlog), where many good games have to wait for the dominant conversation to lose momentum.

Release dates rarely depend solely on creativity. Large games carry contracts, campaigns, internal goals, and commercial commitments. A delay might be the right decision for the project, yet it often generates public irritation and financial noise. This pressure pushes some games towards rushed releases.

A study called “An Empirical Study of Delayed Games on Steam” analyzed thousands of games on the platform and found delays in a high percentage of cases. This data helps to remind us of something simple: game development is unstable. Scope changes, technical problems appear, and planned systems don't always work as expected.

The public usually reacts badly to delays, although they also demand polished results at launch. This contradiction weighs on the studios. The team needs to ask for time without seeming incapable. They need to deliver quality without exceeding human limits. They need to meet the community's needs without letting the planning become hostage to external anxiety.

The discussion about crunch in large productions comes into play here. Red Dead Redemption 2 was celebrated for its level of detail, while simultaneously reigniting debates about intense journeys in the industry. The technical brilliance of a game shouldn't erase the question of the cost of producing it.

We know that genuine, unvarnished excitement exists when it comes to games. This article isn't intended to make you dislike waiting for your favorite game.

The fateful day when the PlayStation community complained about

Geoff Keighley also learned from this after revealing Highguard at The Game Awards. The game was already "defeated" by being the last announcement of one of the biggest events of the year.

With this reflection and discussion, tell us: have you ever let hype control your desires for games? Has it ever ruined any of your experiences with leaks and things like that? Tell us about it!