Dragon Age veteran says games could learn from movies' business models

Mark Darrah, a former long-time producer on the Dragon Age series, says the video game industry could borrow business practices from the movie business. In a video on his channel he compared how both industries go to market. He pointed out that movies make the bulk of their revenue in theatres and then extend commercial life through ancillary markets such as DVD sales, digital pay-per-view, streaming and product placement.

Games, by contrast, are usually sold once and then try to stretch their earning window with microtransactions and expansions, unless they are free-to-play. Darrah highlighted a key difference when titles hit subscription services: streaming platforms typically pay a one-time fee for a movie, while many game services pay developers based on engagement.

The discussion also notes that Xbox Game Pass, at least, does offer a fixed fee to developers to secure games for a period — a revenue stream not unlike how movies operate.

mark darrah, dragon age, video games, movie business, theatres, dvd sales, streaming, pay-per-view, microtransactions, game pass