Former God of War Director Issues Warning to Major Publishers

previous god of war Studio head Meghan Morgan Juinio warned major publishers not to focus solely on big-budget AAA games. As the gaming industry has grown, so has the scope of the games themselves, but the larger players in the space have also struggled with disappointing sales and financial difficulties. Now electronic god of war Directors provided insight into how companies can avoid the worst consequences of this trend.

Kratos swings the blade of chaos at his enemies - Ragnarok, God of War

god of war It stands out as a hugely successful AAA franchise in its own right. The current generation revamp that launched in 2018 was a huge hit, and now there are signs that a new one is on the way. god of war It could either be a mainline game set in Egypt, or a spin-off version is in development that could dive into a different genre. The details are still a mystery, but the hype for this franchise is hot. But one of its former leaders suggested that the industry may need to move away from these big AAA releases at least a little.

The former head of Santa Monica Studios said large publishers 'need to diversify into double-A and single-A.'

In conversations with game developers, Juinio, who served as co-head and director of product development at Santa Monica Studio until June 2025, said major game publishers have become too focused on AAA titles since the pandemic. Juinio expressed his belief in the “power of creativity and innovation” in games, and said that moving beyond big-budget projects and exploring lower-investment but more experimental games could give the studio the results it wanted. Just like last year, it's easy to see where those beliefs come from. split novel Sold over 4 million copies in just a few months, EA's major titles include: Dragon Age: Veilguard and EA Sports FC 2025 It didn't meet my expectations.

Joey and Mio with the dragon in Split Fiction

At the same time, Juinio didn't write about AAA games as a whole, emphasizing the long development cycles and “potentially very large” rewards when expensive titles perform well. But she emphasized that pouring more resources into these kinds of games without diversifying into other, more creative projects may not help break the cycle of layoffs, closures and cancellations that are sweeping the industry. Despite recent big launches, things haven't been good for the gaming sector, with Microsoft laying off thousands of employees in 2025, shutting down many developers and halting projects.

As of now, it doesn't look like AAA games are going to grow any more or get any smaller. There are many upcoming games with budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. GTA 6 It's rumored to have a budget of $1 billion, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out and what impact it has on the industry. Of course, there are still indie success stories out there, as evidenced by the following examples: Hollow Knight: Silksong. The future is uncertain, but at least some industry experts believe games need to diversify to succeed.