Division and specialization of labor

One of the major drivers of cost in the computer game business is the generally higher standards for realistic graphics and animation. A single person could once create a simple vector-graphic arcade game over a month, but now it takes teams of dozens year to produce a new game. This high cost, coupled with the hit-driven nature of the industry, means that publishers have become very cautious and there are few novel games out there. Expect companies to start focusing on producing rendering engines, interaction handlers, physics engines, tree engines, crowd engines, and dozens of other geegaws that will save designers from having to re-invent the wheel, falling body, exploding barrel, rampaging horde etc. again and again.