Fallout co-creator Tim Cain has shared his fear that some gamers are watching influencers just so they can be “handed an opinion from the online channel they’re watching.”
The game developer behind classic RPGs like Fallout and The Outer Worlds offered his perspective on where the gaming industry is at and where it’s heading in a video uploaded to his main channel (as spotted by VGC). When responding to a question from a fan, he explained his take on how social media has affected both game development and how players consume gaming content online.
“Now, we’re in the 2020s,” Cain said, “and many gamers don’t even look to influencers for reviews – they look to influencers to be told how to think about the games. So, people don’t form opinions from the online video, they’re handed an opinion from the online channel they’re watching.”
This is in contrast to his views on how an earlier era of social media influenced game development. In his video, he said many designers used to think about what certain parts of a game, such as boss fights or certain cinematics, might look like when it’s uploaded to YouTube or streamed on Twitch.
The idea was that, if a player saw their favorite YouTuber or streamer playing a game with big explosions with lots of color, they might be more interested in trying it out for themselves. It was about coming up with parts of games that would “make good clips for influencers to show.” Now, things are different.
“I’ve seen reviews go from, ‘This game has less combat and more puzzles and dialogues for you to interact with than this other game,’ to ‘This game is stupid and slow-paced and made for casuals, I think you should skip it.’ That’s a huge difference in how games are presented, but more people are going for that latter,” Cain said.
He continued: “They’re like, ‘I don’t have time. There’s too many games. Just tell me whether I should buy it. Tell me if it’s for me.’ So, they find someone they just like, and then that person’s opinion becomes their opinion.”
Cain admitted that there is a positive side to how players learn about games online. He feels it’s now easier to find voices that align with any one person’s particular preferences. Cain himself admits he enjoys looking for reviews for games he’s already personally familiar with to find individuals who can help guide his purchases in the future. His fear, though, revolves around the increased trend of players he’s seen looking for someone to tell them how to feel.
“This is what a lot of designers think about now when they’re putting a game together,” Cain added. “They also wonder how influencers will react.”
He said that he has “seen people talk about” designing games with influencers in mind. If there is a specific influencer who often covers a certain developer’s games, Cain is concerned that the same developer may be considering what that influencer might think about certain decisions.
“It’s gone from, ‘How should I make this?’ instead of, ‘How do I want to make this?’ and I don’t think that’s a good way to make games,” he continued. “I’m not doing this, but many people, gamers and developers alike, they want me to. When they say, ‘Tim, you gotta listen to us. You and the other devs aren’t listening to me.’ That’s not you telling me to make the game I want to make. That’s you telling me to make the game you want to make.”
Cain announced in December 2025 that he had rejoined Xbox studio Obsidian Entertainment in to work on an unannounced mystery project. At the time of the reveal, he told fans not to “bother guessing” because “you’re not going to guess right.”
For more on Cain’s history in the industry, you can read about some pieces of Fallout lore that he revealed late last year. You can also learn about what role he played in the cancellation of the original Fallout 3.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
