Relevant music trivia: Saliva (of Click Click Boom fame) still produces music, but is an entirely different band than the one people probably think of or hear on the radio.
An interesting philosophical question about when might be the right time to rename a band. Do the current members even feel like they have a real identity? When they tour and play the hits from the first 4 albums, are they just a cover band?
Imagine what must go through the minds of the original members of a band like that.
Like, imagine they start a band in high school, spend years touring, and eventually all leave the band one by one as they get older. But then, one day, years after the last one left, they all get together for a reunion at somebody's house when they hear on the radio that their band is going to be playing a show in town soon. They look around the room and realize that every original member of the band is right there, but they are somehow not that band.
I bet they all individually think "hell yeah, I'm playing in Saliva..." and none of them ever broaches the subject of whether they're actually the band they think they are
Eh, there's a ton of well known acts where the frontman is the only permanent member. Heck, virtually every pop artist operates in that realm. Might be less common in rock, but it's not uncommon.
The entire band changing over, including the frontman and/or creative force? That's extremely rare.
You can be successful, but it requires leaderships and confidence in minimal or singular creative leadership.
Many American studios have become design by committee, which leads to a bunch of ideas trying to coexist unnaturally. Creative leaders mentoring and allowing the next creative leaders to take their shot is needed.
I think ultimately the thing that is killing great studios are executives that mistake themselves for creatives. A rich guy in a suit that has never played video games cannot be trusted to decide what will connect with gaming audiences. Theres a reason indie studios with 5 geeks and a dream are pumping out bangers right now.
I'm gonna go against the grain and say no, any company can be a ship of Theseus. But the important part is it has to be nurtured, there needs to be a culture of not only hiring proper talent, but also both teaching the newer hires the lessons of the old, and then allowing them to develop said talent.
A quick example is Disney animation, they've been around for over 100 years now, and have had multiple eras of success with completely different teams. The 9 old men of old 2D weren't there for the 90's "renaissance", and the 90's people were largely gone for the 2010's CG boom.
I unfortunately don't have similar examples for games on the tip of my tongue, maybe it's because games are a newer art form, maybe it's because they're actually even more of a commercial product. Regardless, the point is that in theory it should be doable to have a multi generational successful studio, if managed properly.
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u/StoicSunbro 7h ago
Exactly. Game studios are not like the Ship of Theseus. You cannot replace core creative talent like planks.
They are like bands: once core members leave the music never sounds the same. Bioware has not been the same studio for many years.