Sucker Punch's Chris Zimmerman on the attention barrier
Sucker Punch co-founder Chris Zimmerman says the main barrier for new developers in 2026 is attention, not making a game.
Chris Zimmerman, co-founder and studio head emeritus at Sucker Punch, says the fundamental challenge for new game developers has shifted. In 2026, the barrier is not making a game, but getting anyone to notice it. He spoke to Pocket Gamer at SLICE 2026 in Seattle.
Zimmerman contrasts the modern landscape with Sucker Punch's start in 1997. Back then, a lack of tools and access were the primary hurdles. Now, those barriers have fallen for everyone. The sheer volume of new titles creates a new problem. He illustrates this with a comparison of platform game counts from his studio's early days to today.
| Platform (1997) | Approximate Game Count | Platform (2026) | Approximate Game Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation | 500 | iOS / Google Play Stores | 500,000+ |
| Nintendo 64 | 50 |
"The problem isn't making a game, it's making a game that actually anyone notices," Zimmerman said.
Finding the spark
The core of Zimmerman's talk was a process for identifying the one special element a successful game needs. He argues every hit has a unique spark. A game can be professionally made in all areas, but without that special component, it will fail. For Sucker Punch, the stakes are high. Their internal criteria is that 10% of all PlayStation owners must play their game.
For open-world titles, Zimmerman says the foundation is a strong character fantasy. This is a concept you can convey in a single sentence. The next step is extensive prototyping until that magical moment occurs. He cited Ghost of Tsushima's development, where it took ten months to land on the skill-based parry system that became a combat cornerstone. Once the team saw the special interaction happen once, they worked to make it consistent.
The path remains open
Despite the daunting numbers, Zimmerman believes the path to success is still accessible. He points to a recent example from within his own studio. Jean Nguyen, a senior animator at Sucker Punch, created a game independently. Nguyen has no programming knowledge but is a skilled and driven animator. He developed Dinoblade in his spare time, releasing it on Steam in July 2026. The game has garnered around 1,700 user reviews.
"He's an animator. He doesn't know how to program..." Zimmerman stated. This example proves the tools and distribution are available. The challenge is cutting through the noise to capture player attention.
The constraints of scale
Zimmerman also discussed the flip side of Sucker Punch's success. Operating a large studio with big budgets creates its own limitations. The studio must sell approximately five million units per game to justify its scale. This economic reality rules out making smaller, more focused experimental titles. It also forces the studio to stay relatively close to genres and formats it already understands.
"We kind of have to stay at least a little bit close to home," he explained. "It's kind of the tyranny of success of being big - it costs too much money to run the studio." This scale prevents Sucker Punch from pursuing the narrow indie projects some team members might personally enjoy.
Zimmerman is applying his own principles to a personal hobby project, currently titled Chris's Hobby Game. He admits it has not yet reached the stage where players want to continue playing beyond an initial session. He sees Nguyen's route of part-time development as a viable, though difficult, model for others.
