Over the last dozen years, the Warsaw‑based studio One More Level has steadily built a reputation for delivering AA‑level experiences that often rival the polish of full‑blown AAA releases. Their breakout title, the 2020 cyber‑punk action platformer Ghostrunner, earned glowing reviews and strong sales – Video Game Insights estimates placed global shipments at roughly 5.6 million copies – and a sequel followed in 2023, cementing the studio’s standing in the mid‑tier market. Nevertheless, the AA segment is currently under pressure. In recent years, capital for mid‑budget projects has dried up just as competition has intensified.
Smaller publishers increasingly gravitate toward micro‑budget games under $1 million, while the major players pour resources into evergreen franchises and blockbuster AAA titles. Even high‑profile AA successes such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have struggled to secure reliable financing, illustrating the systemic risk perception that still haunts the space. "Our huge hit with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 proved the model works, yet many publishers still see AA as a gamble," explains Radek Ratusznik, One More Level’s game director, during a GamesIndustry.biz interview at Gamescom. "We probably need a handful of Expedition 33‑type successes before the industry finally changes its mind.
One hit isn’t enough; we need a pattern. There are plenty of studios capable of producing high‑quality AA games without blowing hundreds of millions of dollars." Ratusznik adds that modern tools have shortened development cycles and lowered costs, but they cannot replace the need for sufficient development time. "The technology we have today lets us iterate faster and perhaps cut a bit of expense, but you can’t finish a solid game in a single year without compromising quality.
Publishers who demand that level of compression are setting themselves up for trouble," he cautions. One More Level’s newest project, Valor Mortis, has been a textbook case of the funding roller‑coaster that many AA developers face.
The studio’s earlier titles were published by Italy’s 505 Games, a Digital Bros subsidiary that announced a 30 percent staff reduction in late 2023 as part of a broader restructuring. For Valor Mortis, the studio initially inked a deal with Take‑Two’s indie label Private Division.
However, in 2024 Take‑Two’s leadership, led by Strauss Zelnick, began pulling back from mid‑tier publishing to concentrate on AAA blockbusters, famously stating, "We’re in the business of making great big hits." Private Division’s assets were eventually sold, and the label resurfaced as Fictions in 2025, now responsible for titles such as Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation. When the Private Division partnership collapsed, One More Level briefly explored self‑publishing, but Ratusznik quickly realized that maintaining the high production values they envisioned would be nearly impossible without external financial backing. Enter Lyrical Games, a publishing venture spun out of the film company Lyrical Media – the same outfit that produced Hugh Jackman’s The Death of Robin Hood. Founded in 2025 by former Private Division executives Blake Rochkind and Roger Kurtz, Lyrical Games positions itself as an oasis for mid‑budget projects in a desert of risk‑averse publishers.
"When people say we’re an oasis, it’s flattering but also a bit scary. We can only support a limited number of titles," Rochkind told GamesIndustry.biz last year, citing Clair Obscur as the archetype of the kind of game they hope to champion. "Having a title like that in our catalog would be a dream." Ratusznik credits the timing and personal relationships for the partnership’s success. "Blake and Roger remembered us and understood the vision for Valor Mortis.
Their belief gave us the lifeline we needed," he says. At the time the studio began seeking funding for Valor Mortis, its headcount hovered around 40‑50 employees. Rather than resort to layoffs during the uncertain period, the team relied on reserves accumulated from earlier successes.
"We had saved enough to ride out the storm without trimming staff, which was a difficult but necessary leap of faith," Ratusznik explains. "A cohesive team is hard to build and easy to break." As the October 13 release approaches, the studio has grown to more than 70 staff members, though not all are dedicated to Valor Mortis; a portion is already engaged on a confidential follow‑up project. Unlike many AA studios that outsource large portions of development, One More Level prefers to keep core work in‑house.
Lead designer Łukasz Wabik notes, "We outsource QA and a few marketing assets, but the bulk of art, design, and programming stays under our roof." The studio remains open to expanding further if Valor Mortis performs well. "Success would allow us to add headcount organically, but we don’t want to leap straight into AAA territory.
Maintaining control over our process is essential," Ratusznik says. Valor Mortis itself is a first‑person action RPG that blends familiar mechanics with a fresh historical backdrop. Its combat draws inspiration from the punishing boss encounters of Dark Souls, while its plasmid‑style abilities echo BioShock’s power‑system. The game’s setting – the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century – was deliberately chosen to differentiate it in a crowded market.
"We wanted a period that hadn’t been overused. The 19th century offered a rich, recognizable canvas, yet it felt distinct from the fantasy‑heavy titles like Bloodborne," Ratusznik recounts. Early narrative concepts were even more outlandish.
"One of the first pitches featured Napoleon possessed by a demonic force," he reveals. "We eventually pivoted to a more grounded story, keeping the horror tone but focusing on the brutal realities of war rather than a literal demon‑riding emperor.
The final product is a horror‑infused Napoleonic tale with subtle fantasy elements." First‑person swordplay and the period‑specific aesthetic form the game’s unique selling points. "Our USPs are the setting, the combat feel, and the blend of horror with historical authenticity. Players get to experience a recognizable era with a twist – mutated soldiers, eerie atmospheres, and a narrative that feels both fresh and familiar," Ratusznik says proudly. "The feedback so far has been extremely positive, and we believe we’ve hit a sweet spot where history meets speculative horror, giving gamers something both recognizable and novel."