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Molyneux on indie golden age, "enjoy this time, because it won't last"

Godus creator Peter Molyneux has warned that these days of indie prosperity won't last, citing another cycle that will see independents quashed under the brass heel of bigger entities once more. History, he feels, will repeat itself.

Speaking with CVG, Molyneux said, "These things go in cycles. "What I'd say is, enjoy this time, because it won't last.

"Don't think we're going to be all indies for the next five years - these things go in cycles, just like in the music business. You have a time where punk is big, and then you have times like now where everything is manufactured. Enjoy this time, because inevitably it will only last a short period."

Molyenux's fear is that today's indie darling will get big and leave their founding principles behind in the face of tantalising dollar-sacks. "Here's the thing," he went on, "walk through any hotel lobby at GDC and look at people's name badges. This morning at breakfast I saw three angel investors talking to indies. They're saying, 'take my money! I want to invest in your company!'

"But what those indie companies don't realise is that they'll then have to have board meetings, and in those meetings they'll be told, 'no, you shouldn't do that - look at this game that's making money'."

That said, Molyneux added that he's pleased to see indies given their fair shot thanks to open routes to market and easier and in some cases free access to development technology. It's like the 1980s all over again, he said, and added that right now is a great time to be an indie. He still feels these days are fleeting however.

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Dave Cook avatar

Dave Cook

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Dave worked on VG247 for an extended period manging much of the site's news output. As well as his experience in games media, he writes for comics, and now specializes in books about gaming history.

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