Thief designer thinks the graphics arms race should have ended with 2010's Alan Wake: 'The fidelity curve has become outrageous'

Randy Smith Evergreen, a designer known for titles such as System Shock 2 and Dark Messiah: Might and Magic, has expressed his belief that the graphics arms race should have concluded with Remedy Entertainment's 2010 game, Alan Wake. In his opinion, the fidelity curve has become excessive and unneeded, considering it was once photorealistic enough to convey the setting effectively.

Smith Evergreen argues that the pursuit of more advanced graphics frequently leads to features that don't serve any practical purpose, and that most games within the AA or AAA categories employ ray tracing and high levels of fidelity which are hard to enjoy without DLSS trickery. He stresses that immersive sims shouldn't aim for AAA quality, as it misunderstands the audience's size and isn't necessary for the original purpose of the genre.