https://rtalsoriangames.com/2020/10/09/cyberpunk-red-alert/
456 pages
I don't see why they need to overdo the background material so much when anyone that plays this RPG will have already played the video game and will know more about the world from playing it than they would from reading any book.
I wouldn't make that assumption. There are still people that prefer reading books to playing video games.
Perhaps, but I doubt that they are in the majority. And IMO excessively large game tomes are more a liability than an asset when it comes to actually getting a group together, prepping a game and actually playing the game. Most people, particularly casual gamers, are not heavy readers. And even when they might read the occasional novel, most people (other than uber nerds, and even then only some) don’t associate games with reading massive textbooks. That’s homework, not a game. Large books scare noobs away.
Large books are an obstacle to gaming. Having to read a 400+, almost 500 freaking page book just to get started becomes an immediate barrier of entry. That’s too much material to start playing right away, and IMO, that should be the primary goal of any RPG book—to get people to play as quickly as possible without delay. But 450+ pages means that we’re gonna have to sit this one out and wait till the GM gets around reading all text before we even discuss playing, much less start prepping a campaign.
IMO, all RPG books should be short and to the point. If there’s too much material to cover in 250 pages or so tops, the material should be split up into separate supplements, with the core book focusing on rules and a world overview.