Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games, recently reshared his comments from 26 years ago regarding the closure of Looking Glass Studios. He reiterated that the shutdown was not "a sad day," but rather "a day consistent with economic reality," reigniting player debates on innovation, commercial sustainability, and managerial responsibility.
Sweeney originally posted these comments on May 24, 2000. At the time, he stated that Looking Glass had invested heavily in developing innovative games but failed to achieve satisfactory sales; projects and teams unable to produce profitable games would be cut, which could include both teams that deserved consequences and talented developers who simply hadn't been lucky enough to create a hit.
In revisiting this old post, Sweeney described the current slump in the gaming industry as a recurring cyclical pattern. He noted that while a new generation of players is experiencing this situation for the first time, similar scenarios have occurred multiple times throughout the industry's history. Addressing the controversy, he stated that his post was not intended to be popular, but that it is necessary for those in key positions to discuss the root causes of issues during times of industry change.