Schafer concerned over place for smaller studios on next-gen consoles

Double Fine founder Tim Schafer has expressed concerns surrounding next-gen formats, and feels that mid-to-small studios like his own may not have a place on new consoles unless holders like Sony and Microsoft open up in a similar fashion to Steam. Get his musings below.

Speaking with Polygon, Schafer said, "Our fear was that next generation was going to be only big AAA games. It was only going to be a place for Call of Duty and Halo. But we've talked to [the console manufacturers], and told people what things would be hard for teams our size with regards to consoles.

“We'd still like to be active in that space, we care about consoles, but unless they open things up a lot more like what we have on Steam... if they opened things up more it would be a more friendly place from our perspective.

"We've talked to them about this stuff, and you know, they hear us. They're big companies and they can't make changes overnight, but I think they're taking all of that stuff into consideration. We'll have to see what happens."

Double Fine has stepped away from the big-budget console market for some time now, and is focusing on independent titles free from publisher pressure and console sale sensibilities. VG247 spoke with Double Fine on this very matter earlier this year. You can check out our full interview here.

What's your take on Double Fine's standing in the industry? Does it have a place in the triple-a console world? Should Sony and Microsoft be doing more to support studios of its size? Let us know below.

Thanks GI.biz.