It would make sense as long as it is a low-budget or at most medium-budget game. Then they could completely focus on opening the game in a relatively modern way.
A high budget is both a blessing and a curse for games. It supposedly enables the creation of a larger and richer game, at the same time it forces the creators to make many compromises so that the project not only pays for itself, but also earns money for another
When it comes to high-budget games, counting on fans of only a given type of games will in most cases end in a disaster.
It's hard to tell if this is even remotely true, since it's not like it's been attempted often.
"Hardcore" *** core design with mass market production value is something publishers almost never attempt under the assumption it's risky, rather that something that ACTUALLY proved itself unsuccessful on the market.
*** And here we could start a long debate about what the term even means in practical terms, by the way. Except... Let's NOT.
