If the returns aren’t good enough it’s because we’ve created this landscape where graphics, features, and general technology are so complicated that the cost of making them is incredibly high.

The other issue is something your comment demonstrates perfectly. Games are now primarily business ventures first, art second.

20 years ago the aspirations for studios was to make great games for the arts sake and get paid decent enough to live well so they could keep doing it (this model still exists in the indie game landscape and does quite well). Now it’s all about ROI percentages and lining CEO pockets with ridiculous salaries and bonuses. Just like every other industry that’s become complete unbalanced with runaway capitalism.

The game industry has become completely warped by this paradigm. AAA Games now exist purely as a business venture. Giant companies have acquired almost all of the smaller studios so this mentality is all that is left.

“How can we innovate and make great art while getting paid” has turned into “Will this product return the investment to shareholders”. That is now the sole purpose in gaming studios today. It actually being a good game is just a secondary bonus that might mean better investment opportunities with it in the future.

Of course this is not just an issue with the video game industry. Obviously it’s part of the greater issue of the type of runaway greed that this system encourages. This has infected most industries now. Its part of why things are so out of balance between the worker and the c-suite execs.

TLDR: Giant mega companies who’s only purpose is to make insane amounts of money bought out all of the studios that used to have a balance of creating great art and getting paid enough to keep doing it.

When it’s unnecessary to the game concept especially

And we will never get that as long as shareholders and the executives trying to please them dictate creative decisions from the top down. This is why we have mountains of bland games these days.