Why Are Developers Held Responsible for Failures They Can’t Control?

                                                                       Photo by Philip Oroni @philipsfuture on Unsplash

Game developers already have to contend with crunch culture where if you’re not hardcore enough they’ll simply employ another developer who will invest crazy hours into a product which they do not directly benefit from.

The recent chaos over at PlayStation due to the failure of the game Concord demonstrates how fragile the software industry has become. Many at the developer, Firewalk Studios, fear layoffs due to the fact nobody in management noticed Fortnite is free.

Does that seem fair? It’s not, so let’s explore why developers are frequently stuck in unwinnable situations.

Scapegoating Everywhere

This isn’t an isolated incident. The common misconception is that if a product fails, it’s because the developers weren’t good enough and they could have simply worked harder. 

That’s problematic. There are so many factors that affect the success of a project apart from the work of developers. Market forces, executive decisions and consumer preferences can decide whether a project thrives or dies — and Concord is a case in point.

Yet when things go south it’s the developers who bear the brunt of the blame. They had no control over budget allocation, marketing strategies, or timelines, yet get scapegoated. It’s like blaming the waiter when the chef burns the steak (which I suspect you’ve done, you monster). Sure, the waiter’s job is to serve the dish, but they didn’t pick the recipe or the ingredients.

Short-Termism Again?

If you’ve been in the industry long enough, you already know that developer turnover isn’t always about poor performance — sometimes it’s about saving face. It’s easier for a company to point fingers at the devs instead of acknowledging that their own strategy was flawed from the get-go.

Again, we can look at Concord for a real-life project where this has happened. Ryan Ellis, the creative head of Firewalk was demoted but not fired. The rest of the team is waiting for the axe to drop, and I can’t help but feel that many will soon be looking for work. This isn’t fair since precisely zero of them chose the pricing for the game, or green-lit the launch without addressing negative feedback.

It’s short-term thinking at its finest — blaming developers for a failure they had minimal control over rather than addressing the broader issues within the business. This mirrors a problem I’ve written about before​: the tech industry’s obsession with short-term fixes instead of building strong, sustainable teams.

Devs Are Not Wizards (At Least, Most of Us Aren’t)

Look, most of us know we’re not miracle workers. We can’t fix what we can’t control like the pricing of a product. We can’t control that, but the same applies to quality too.

I’ve experienced teams that seem to think I can fix everything if I just…

“put in a few more hours.” 

Sometimes code needs to be rewritten, just like sometimes software needs to be properly targeted at an audience. It’s the same type of thing where we as developers are at the whim of executives and the business without the power to change anything.

This disconnect between what execs expect and what developers can actually deliver is a recipe for disaster. Just like at FAANG companies, where we all dreamt of working until reality set in​, developers often find themselves powerless in decisions that will ultimately impact their careers.

What Should Change?

First and foremost, companies need to stop using developers as a scapegoat for larger business failings. 

There is a difference between product failure and developer incompetence, they simply aren’t the same thing. Corporate decision-makers could even include technical staff in their strategic planning (imagine that). 

How about some training and mentorship​? Do youwant your teams to grow and develop into great teams that deliver? Make it happen but without the blame game.

Conclusion

The situation at Firewalk Studios is heartbreaking, but sadly, it’s not unique. As the gaming industry — and tech in general — grapples with constant market shifts and ever-growing competition, developers are more vulnerable than ever. For Sony, Firewalk, and others, a bad business plan led to failure. For the developers? They may pay the price with their jobs.

If you’ve ever been burned by bad management decisions, you’re not alone. But I’ll say this: at least I didn’t ship Concord.