The Controversy Behind Asset-Flipping in Video Games - Is It Harmful?

Key Takeaways

• “Asset flip” games reuse pre-made assets from libraries or other games, aiming for quick profit.
• It is common and unproblematic for indie or AA games to use pre-made assets to save time and budget.
• Using pre-made assets doesn’t necessarily make a game bad. Focus on gameplay and fun.

You may have heard some poorly-received games being accused of being “asset flip” titles, but I bet more than a few people have no idea what this particular insult means in the context of video games. Thankfully, we can rectify that right away.

Not Every Asset in Games Is Bespoke

An “asset flip” game is a title that reuses game assets from other games, or more commonly uses pre-made assets from libraries of assets. It’s basically like using stock photos in a project. If a particular stock photo is popular, you’ll see it in lots of different places, and some people play so many games that they can spot a common stock asset easily.

For a game to count as an “asset flip,” it generally needs to use pre-made assets for most to all of its in-game assets. The idea is that the creators of the game put in as little effort as possible, and just wanted some sort of game out the door. It’s basically creating a hodgepodge game from existing bits and pieces and selling it as your own original creative work.

Pre-made Assets Help Out Indie and Double-A Developers

However, you should keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong with a developer paying for pre-made assets. As a “double A” or “indie” budget game, it makes sense to use your human resources where it matters, and take advantage of good assets for minor details, like brick textures or generic buildings.

The same goes for sound effects. An M16 is an M16, there’s no need for every developer to go out and record a new one. As with the production of any medium, budget allocations have to be smart to get the most out of your resources. Also, don’t think that “triple A” big-budget games don’t do the same thing. A penny saved, and all that!

Asset Flipped Games Are Usually a Form of Shovelware

So, now that we’ve established that it’s normal and good for games to make some use of pre-made assets, let’s get back to why true asset flips are a bad thing. First and foremost, asset flips are a type of shovelware . The whole point of shovelware games is to nickel and dime people. Not too many people will be fooled, but since the “developer” spent so little time and effort making their “game” they don’t need to catch that many people.

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In fact, with modern game creation tools like Unity and Unreal Engine 5, it’s not hard for a single person with some free time to knock something out in a few days to weeks. There have even been cases where people publish what’s essentially an unaltered Unity template with a new name and try to sell that. There are some good Steam curators, such as Asset Flip Reviews who make a point of highlighting these games so that people can safely avoid them. Even if you buy them on a platform where you can easily get your money back, they’ve still wasted your time and that’s worth something too!

Just Because a Game Uses “Flipped” Assets Doesn’t Make It Bad

While almost all games made from mostly or completely pre-made assets tend to be shovelware, it needs to be said that just because something has plenty of pre-made assets, doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. Most classic games mods that transform the original game such as the Team Fortress mod for Quake or Defense of the Ancients which was a mod for Warcraft 3. The modders didn’t really make any new assets for these games, but instead invented fun and fresh gameplay.

Ultimately, a game should be judged on whether it’s fun to play, and how the assets were made doesn’t factor into that. It’s true that almost all asset flip games are terrible, but that’s because they’re made by scammers rather than passionate game designers.