15 years outside game design is almost like never having been in it.

• Development cycles are different. Iteration wasn't just in alpha back then because art departments weren't as huge and didn't need as much time to pivot.
• Game engines are different with a lot of this being to the benefit of developers releasing on multiple consoles - if they understand the engines and how/when to modify them.
• Game story-telling has probably changed more than anything - especially in the AAA space. Brevity, telling the story while players play instead of taking control from the player, and high production value are huge. What the world doesn't need is a game with a great story that is told so terribly that kids are skipping long cut-scenes and missing it (well, not if they want to be profitable and get to make other games). Squenix seems to have learned this with FF7 Remake as so much of the story is told while you play - unfortunately, sometimes this is in scenes that make you walk behind characters to get exposition instead of running at full speed instead of using a cut-scene for the exposition (that we can skip on subsequent playthroughs - or drink our coffee while watching instead of being enslaved into interacting with it).

Having said that, he could be contracted as a writer/designer under a game director who understands modern game development and where the bar for quality is currently set for storytelling and production value.