The gaming industry (as well as the rest of the US) is yet again hit by another crisis in the form of tariffs. However, it appears one popular game dev has set an example as a beacon of hope, especially for those who want to pursue their passions independently and for people who still love gaming. That man is none other than Abubakar Salim, you might also know him as Alyn of Hull in HBO’s House of the Dragon.
Salim is also a video game developer, on top of being an actor, which practically doubles the relevance of his appearance in the recent BAFTA Awards. Luckily, Salim was also interviewed by Insider Gaming, where he revealed the reason for pricing one of his games more affordably and why Surgent Studios might do the same for their future games.
In the interview, Salim stated that he has always been fond of gaming and also realized that his library was limited as a kid because of the costs associated with the hobby. Thus, Salim has made it his philosophy to fight for games being affordable even in these trying times in the gaming industry.
“I kind of look back to myself as a kid and what I was allowed to play, and you know, I had like my one or two games that I got a year, right?
I’m now in a position where I’m able to play more, but I think about the kids of today and what they’re able to play and what they have access to, and I think, you know, the reason why we made Zau $20 was because it was like, ‘What’s the price of pizza? What’s the price of something that you’ll get mates around and enjoy and have an experience with,’ and that was essentially where that mentality was, making it accessible.
People kind of forget that accessibility also accounts to socio-economics – money, man. We’re in a very tough time at the moment, so why make it harder and have that bar eventually so high? I’ll be honest, I was a bit upset about the price changes, because Nintendo is a family game, Nintendo is a family genre. It’s a family platform,” explains Abubakar Salim.
This was Salim’s response to being asked about his opinion regarding the US tariffs and the game companies’ reactions to these new import taxes. Nintendo is among the most affected companies, as they even had to delay pre-orders in the US to account for President Donald Trump’s series of tariffs this month.
The House of the Dragon actor is also thankful for game publishing companies such as Pocketpair, especially now that he’s partnered up with the Palworld creators, stating that the industry could use more companies like them. Here’s the rest of the interview:
Most Game Companies Don’t Share Abukara Salim’s Views, Of Course
While Salim’s views are admirable and also something that the industry needs, he did admit that he has no shade against Nintendo and that he’s not truly aware of the inner workings behind the finance side of game development. So while all of us could be hoping for more reasonably affordable games in the future, industry giants like Nintendo are going in the other direction.
With how things are going right now, Nintendo might have even given Rockstar Studios an excuse to charge $100 for base games, especially for the upcoming GTA 6. During the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal, the game company also unveiled that there will be $80 base games for the platform.
It’s quite a big jump from $60 or even $70 from a couple of years ago, and gaming as a hobby is steadily becoming more expensive these days, with many people considering more accessible and affordable options.
