The New Cycle Begins

As I've said on numerous occasions, the PS4 and Xbox 720 will at least be announced by this time next year. In fact, developers have had a long time to work on them. I've been told that dev kits for the 720 have been in developers hands for 2 years.

With the rise of Kickstarter and the news surrounding big name developers leaving, things are changing, and just at an interesting time.

Cliffy B left Epic games last month

We've seen big name developers releasing below par games which can be attributed to publisher pressures. 
Take Rare for example. This console generation has seen them develop AAA titles to releasing Kinect party games. All that talent that made Rare so successful have gone and are working for other developers or going it alone.

What about Peter Molyneux? Did Microsoft force Lionhead into a certain direction which forced Peter to leave? I think developers are starting to realise that this is time for a fresh start, just as the new console generation starts.

I believe that in the next few years, you will see new companies sprouting up ready to unleash innovative titles and possibly be bought up by the bigger publishers. The new cycle begins.