Matthew Karch, head of Saber Interactive, recently shared his perspective on the future of the gaming industry, predicting the decline of the high-budget AAA model. Karch, whose company developed Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2, stated: “I think the era of $200, $300, $400 million AAA games is coming to an end. I don't think it's necessary. And I don't think it's appropriate…I think if anything has contributed to job losses [mass layoffs in the game industry] more than anything else, it's a budget of a few hundred million dollars [for games].”
The AAA label, once synonymous with high budgets, superior quality, and low risk, is now viewed by developers as outdated and irrelevant. Instead, it's increasingly associated with profit-driven competition that compromises quality and innovation.
Revolution Studios co-founder, Charles Cecil, echoed this sentiment, calling the term "silly and meaningless." He attributed the shift to major publishers' substantial investments in games, a change he considers ultimately negative. He noted, "It's a meaningless and silly term. It's a holdover from a period when things were changing, but not in a positive way." Ubisoft's Skull and Bones, marketed as a "AAAA" title, is cited as a prime example of this trend.
