Former God of War director warns major publishers

East god of war Studio head Meghan Morgan Juinio has warned major publishers not to focus solely on big-budget AAA games. As the gaming industry continues to grow, so has the range of games itself, but even the biggest players in the space have struggled with disappointing sales and financial difficulties. Now the East god of war The director offers some insight into how companies can avoid the negative consequences of these trends.

Kratos wields the Blade of Chaos against an enemy - the God of War Ragnarok

god of war Stands out as a massively successful AAA franchise by itself. The current-gen revamp that launched in 2018 was a smash hit, and now there are signs that the new god of war is in development, possibly either a mainline game set in Egypt or a spin-off that could dip into another genre. While the details are still a mystery, the hype for the franchise is high, but one of its former leaders has suggested that the industry needs to move away from such big AAA releases, at least a little.

Former Santa Monica studio head says major publishers 'need to diversify into double-A and single-A'

In a conversation with Game Developers, Zuinio, who served as the Santa Monica studio's co-head and director of product development until June 2025, said major game publishers have become more focused on AAA titles since the pandemic. Juinio believes in the “power of creativity and innovation” in gaming, looking beyond big-budget projects to explore lower-investment but more experimental games that can produce the results studios want. As with last year, it's easy to see where that line of belief comes from, Split Fiction Over four million copies have been sold in just months while EA's flagship titles such as Dragon Age: Vilguard and EA Sports FC 2025 Less than expected.

Zoe and Mio with dragons in Split Fiction

At the same time, Juinio didn't write off AAA games entirely, highlighting the “potentially really big” payoff when an expensive title with a long dev cycle performs well. However, he stressed that pouring more resources into these types of games would not help break the cycle of industry-wide layoffs, shutdowns and cancellations that could be diverted to other, perhaps more creative, projects. Despite some big recent projections, time has not been kind to the gaming sector, with Microsoft laying off thousands of employees in 2025 and seeing many developers close their doors and canned projects.

For now, it doesn't look like AAA games are going anywhere or getting any smaller. There are many upcoming games with multi-crore budgets GTA 6 It is rumored to have a $1 billion budget, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out and affects the industry. Of course, there are still indie success stories to be seen, too, as evidenced by Hollow Knight: Silksong. The future is uncertain, but at least some industry vets think gaming needs diversity to thrive.