00:00:00 In this section, the YouTuber tells the story of a game called BattleBit Remastered, developed by only three people, which has achieved great success in the gaming market. The success of BattleBit highlights the disconnect between AAA developers and players, as the game addresses the feedback that fans of the Battlefield franchise have been asking for, including destructible environments, a detailed server browser, and no microtransactions. This stands in contrast to the approach of many AAA studios, who prioritize in-game purchases and long play hours over creating games that they themselves would want to play. The YouTuber also discusses how some developers critique games like Elden Ring for deviating from generic game design trends, failing to acknowledge that the game’s success is due to its old-school approach and allowing players to think for themselves. These examples demonstrate how AAA developers are out of touch with what gamers truly desire. 00:05:00 In this section of the video, the content creator discusses the issue of AAA developers being out of touch with gamers and their tendency to chase trends rather than lead or innovate. The focus is initially on Ubisoft, which is criticized for becoming stagnant and creating repetitive open world checklist simulators. The failure of their late entry into the Battle Royale genre with Hyperscape is also highlighted. The content creator then goes on to explain that most AAA studios and publishers are no longer focused on leading or innovating, with the last real innovation being seen in 2013 or 2011. Instead, innovation is primarily coming from the indie scene, with examples like the Battle Royale trend being set by indie developers through mods for games like Arma 3. Bungie is mentioned as one of the few AAA studios that has set trends, particularly with their live service and loot system approach in the Destiny franchise, which other corporations have tried to replicate unsuccessfully. This is cited as one of the reasons why Sony purchased Bungie. 00:10:00 In this section, the speaker discusses how AAA developers have become out of touch with their audience and are focused on creating games solely for the purpose of making money. They mention that indie developers are now taking inspiration from past AAA games and are successfully iterating on their ideas. The speaker expresses their preference for indie games, such as BattleBit and Tunic, which they feel have more soul and originality compared to AAA titles that are designed based on focus group testing and statistics. They invite viewers to check out these indie games and ask whether they believe AAA developers are out of touch with what gamers truly want.