GoKawiilThief co-creator Randy Smith says graphics fidelity peaked with Alan Wake in 2010
Former Thief designer Randy Smith argued in a recent interview that the games industry should have stopped chasing ever-greater photorealism after Remedy's 2010 title Alan Wake, which he says already delivered enough visual immersion to make players feel part of its world. He said anything beyond that level of graphical polish is just extra 'gravy' that doesn't meaningfully improve gameplay experiences, especially in immersive sims like Thief or Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.