This can't be stressed enough. "Game programmers" today are really engine scriptwriters. They didn't make the game - they licensed a framework for a game from somebody else and then write scripts and textures and models to populate it. Optimization happens in the backend, the engine, and the modern game programmer doesn't work with the guts of that at all.
Triple-a's have the resources for in-house engines or deep modifications to licensed middleware. Their problem is that biz-dev departments (I.e. disconnected from consuming or developing the product) have an even larger share of production effecting decisions than they did versus the mid 00s. Current industry's scope and scheduling philosphy is incongruous with making works of art, thus they're not committing the right resources to robust architecture and other foundations.
This is more because of consoles. Optimising for PC takes actual work and expertise, which is something devs don't have any more.
This can't be stressed enough. "Game programmers" today are really engine scriptwriters. They didn't make the game - they licensed a framework for a game from somebody else and then write scripts and textures and models to populate it. Optimization happens in the backend, the engine, and the modern game programmer doesn't work with the guts of that at all.
Triple-a's have the resources for in-house engines or deep modifications to licensed middleware. Their problem is that biz-dev departments (I.e. disconnected from consuming or developing the product) have an even larger share of production effecting decisions than they did versus the mid 00s. Current industry's scope and scheduling philosphy is incongruous with making works of art, thus they're not committing the right resources to robust architecture and other foundations.