November 5, 2025
Bosses be like: “Make it cooler!”
Poor leadership slows down game development
Fans and workers say delays come from clueless bosses, not gadgets
TLDR: The piece argues long game delays come from poor leadership—not tech. Comments erupt with stories of “failing up” managers, ignored QA warnings, and meme-worthy feedback, while a minority blames publisher pressure. The takeaway: tools won’t fix chaos; teams need trust, clear decisions, and real accountability.
The community didn’t just nod along to the new report—they brought torches. Readers say the slow crawl of big games isn’t about fancy tools or even artificial intelligence; it’s bad bosses calling chaotic shots. The most-upvoted mood: leaders keep failing upward while teams eat the stress. War stories poured in about approved features getting tossed, sudden pivots after a weekend playthrough, and that dreaded feedback note: “make it cooler.” QA testers chimed in with “we warned you,” while artists joked about the “grey-box skip speedrun” that leads to panic polish.
Not everyone piled on: a smaller crew defended managers, blaming publishers and “market whiplash” for last-minute demands. But the spiciest thread mocked tech-savior talk—“You can’t auto-generate trust,” one commenter quipped. Memes erupted: photoshops of creative directors riding a rocket labeled “X game I just played,” and bingo cards for bad leadership traits (slow approvals, vague deadlines, crunch “that’s not crunch”). The crowd wants accountability—clear timelines, QA at the table, and less musical chairs with staff. The vibe? It’s not the engine. It’s the driver. And the internet is done pretending the pit crew can fix leadership with a patch.
Key Points
- •The article identifies poor leadership as a major contributor to longer game development timelines.
- •Interviews with six industry veterans reveal seven recurring leadership behaviors that slow or derail projects.
- •Misunderstanding development realities and poor project management lead to unrealistic timelines and rework.
- •Failure to trust employees, slow decision-making, and sudden direction changes create inefficiencies.
- •Vague or contradictory crunch policies result in overtime and unpaid work, further harming development progress.