Over the last dozen years, the Polish studio One More Level has quietly built a reputation for delivering AA‑level experiences that often rival the polish of full‑blown AAA titles. Their breakout hit, the cyber‑punk action platformer Ghostrunner, arrived in 2020 to glowing reviews and strong sales—Video Game Insights estimates place its worldwide shipments at roughly 5.6 million copies.
The success was enough to justify a sequel, which launched in 2023 and continued to showcase the studio’s knack for high‑octane gameplay wrapped in a sleek visual package. Despite these achievements, the broader AA segment is under pressure. In recent years, capital for mid‑tier projects has thinned just as the market has become more crowded. Smaller publishers tend to back games with budgets under $1 million, while the heavyweight studios double down on evergreen franchises and blockbuster‑scale AAA releases.
Even titles that have proven commercial viability—such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which sold impressively—still struggle to secure the kind of financing that would allow a comfortable development cycle. "We pulled off a massive hit with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, yet many publishers still see the AA space as a gamble," explains Radek Ratusznik, game director at One More Level, in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom. "A single success isn’t enough to change that perception.
We probably need a handful of Expedition 33‑type titles before the industry truly believes us. There are plenty of studios capable of delivering high‑quality AA games without blowing hundreds of millions of dollars." Ratusznik adds that modern development tools have shortened production timelines and reduced costs, but they haven’t eliminated the need for a reasonable schedule. "We can make better games faster and a bit cheaper now, but you can’t realistically finish a polished title in a single year without cutting corners.
Proper testing and polishing still take time, and I doubt publishers will accept a rushed product just to meet an arbitrary deadline." One More Level’s latest project, Valor Mortis, illustrates the roller‑coaster ride of finding a publishing partner. Originally, the studio’s previous hits were released through 505 Games, the Italian publishing arm of Digital Bros.
However, Digital Bros announced a 30 percent workforce reduction in late 2023 as part of a restructuring plan, casting doubt on future support for mid‑tier titles. Valor Mortis was initially signed to Private Division, a label under Take‑Two Interactive, but the parent company began scaling back its focus on anything that wasn’t a guaranteed AAA blockbuster.
Take‑Two CEO Strauss Zelnick summed up the shift: "We’re in the business of making great big hits." When Private Division’s catalogue was sold off and the label re‑emerged as Fictions in 2025—now backing releases like Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation—One More Level faced a crossroads. Ratusznik admits the studio briefly considered self‑publishing Valor Mortis, but quickly realized that achieving the desired level of quality would be difficult without external financial backing. Enter Lyrical Games, a publishing venture spun out of the film company Lyrical Media, best known for producing the Hugh Jackman film The Death of Robin Hood. Formed in 2025 by former Private Division executives Blake Rochkind and Roger Kurtz, Lyrical Games positions itself as an oasis for mid‑tier developers in a desert of risk‑averse publishers.
"People tell us we’re an oasis, which is both flattering and a little terrifying," Rochkind told GamesIndustry.biz last year. "If we can champion a title like Clair Obscur, that would be a dream for us." The timing proved fortuitous. "Blake and Roger remembered us and had a clear grasp of what we were trying to achieve," Ratusznik says.
"Their belief gave us the confidence to push forward." At the time the studio began courting investors for Valor Mortis, it employed roughly 40‑50 staff members. Rather than resort to layoffs when cash flow tightened, the team leaned on reserves saved from earlier successes.
"We had enough savings to ride out the uncertainty without cutting the core team, which was a hard decision but ultimately the right one," Ratusznik explains. "You can build a solid development crew, but it’s far easier to dismantle it than to rebuild it later." As the October 13 release date approaches, the studio has grown to over 70 employees, though not all are dedicated to Valor Mortis; some are already working on a secret, unannounced project.
Many AA studios supplement their internal talent with external contractors for large‑scale tasks—Sandfall Interactive, for instance, relied heavily on outsourced workers while developing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. One More Level, however, prefers to keep as much of the pipeline in‑house as possible.
Lead designer Łukasz Wabik notes, "We outsource QA and a few marketing‑related assets, but the majority of art, design, and programming is done by our own team." Looking ahead, Ratusznik says a successful launch could trigger another hiring wave, but the studio is cautious about growing too quickly. "If Valor Mortis performs well, we’ll expand, but we don’t want to jump straight into AAA territory.
Maintaining control over our creative process is essential." Valor Mortis itself is a first‑person action RPG that blends familiar mechanics with a distinctive historical setting. Its combat draws inspiration from the unforgiving boss encounters of Dark Souls, while its plasmid‑style abilities echo the power‑up systems of BioShock.
The twist lies in its backdrop: the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. Ratusznik explains that the team deliberately avoided overused fantasy tropes, opting instead for a period that feels both recognizable and fresh. "We initially toyed with a more Bloodborne‑style gothic fantasy, but eventually settled on the Napoleonic era because it offered a concrete historical framework with room for imaginative twists." Early narrative concepts were even more outlandish. One pitch imagined Napoleon himself being possessed by a malevolent force, turning the emperor into a literal demon.
Over time, the writers trimmed the supernatural elements, favoring a grounded horror tone that still incorporates subtle fantasy flourishes. "We kept some mutation and horror motifs, but the story now focuses on the brutal realities of war rather than a demonic conquest," Ratusznik says. The studio also emphasizes its unique selling points: first‑person swordplay set against a war‑torn Europe, combined with the eerie atmosphere of a horror‑infused historical drama.
"These are our USPs. The setting gives players a familiar yet novel world, while the combat system feels fresh. The positive early feedback tells us we’re on the right track," he adds.
In summary, One More Level’s journey—from the triumph of Ghostrunner to the funding turbulence surrounding Valor Mortis—highlights the precarious yet resilient nature of the AA market. With the backing of a film‑industry‑derived publisher and a clear vision for a historically anchored, mechanically rich experience, the studio hopes to prove that mid‑tier games can still capture both critical acclaim and commercial success, paving the way for more Expedition 33‑style confidence among wary publishers.