Over the last dozen years, the Warsaw‑based studio One More Level has quietly built a reputation for delivering AA‑level experiences that often rival AAA productions in polish and ambition. The studio first burst onto the global stage with Ghostrunner, a sleek cyber‑punk platformer released in 2020 that earned rave reviews and impressive sales – Video Game Insights estimates put its worldwide shipments at roughly 5.6 million copies. The success was strong enough to merit a sequel in 2023, confirming the studio’s ability to iterate on a proven formula while still pushing technical boundaries. Despite these highs, the broader AA market has entered a difficult phase.
In recent years, venture capital and publisher investment have thinned just as the number of competing titles has swelled. Smaller publishers tend to gravitate toward ultra‑low‑budget projects under $1 million, viewing them as safer bets, while the industry giants double‑down on evergreen franchises that guarantee blockbuster returns. Even blockbuster AA titles such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have struggled to secure the kind of financing that would make a mid‑tier game feel like a low‑risk proposition.
"Our triumph with Expedition 33 proved the AA segment can generate massive interest, yet many publishers still treat it as a gamble," explains Radek Ratusznik, the game director at One More Level, during a GamesIndustry.biz interview at Gamescom. "One hit isn’t enough to change perception. We may need a handful of Expedition‑style successes before the industry truly believes in the viability of AA titles. There are plenty of studios capable of delivering high‑quality games without blowing a few hundred million dollars.
"The tools we have today let us create better games faster and, in some cases, more cheaply. But you can’t realistically finish a polished product in a single year without compromising quality. Development still requires a reasonable timeline for iteration, testing, and polish – something many publishers underestimate when they try to squeeze schedules. One More Level’s journey to bring its newest project, Valor Mortis, to market has been anything but smooth.
The title, slated for an October 13 launch, is a first‑person action RPG set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, blending sword‑play, horror motifs, and a hint of bio‑shock‑style plasmid powers. After Ghostrunner’s partnership with Italy’s 505 Games (a Digital Bros subsidiary that announced a 30 % staff cut in late 2023), the studio initially inked a deal with Private Division, the indie‑focused label under Take‑Two Interactive. However, in 2024 Take‑Two’s leadership, led by Strauss Zelnick, decided to refocus on AAA blockbusters, leaving Private Division to downsize and eventually rebrand as Fictions in 2025. When the Private Division agreement collapsed, Ratusznik and his team briefly entertained self‑publishing.
"We realized that to maintain the quality we envision for Valor Mortis, external publishing support was essential," he says. Their salvation arrived in the form of Lyrical Games, a publishing venture spun out of the film company Lyrical Media – the same studio that produced the Hugh Jackman feature The Death of Robin Hood. Founded in 2025 by former Private Division executives Blake Rochkind and Roger Kurtz, Lyrical Games positions itself as a rare oasis for mid‑tier projects. "When developers tell us we’re an oasis in a desert, it’s both flattering and daunting," recalls Rochkind in a 2024 interview with GamesIndustry.biz.
"We’re looking for titles like Clair Obscur that can prove the AA model works. Having a game like that on our roster would be a dream come true." For One More Level, the timing could not have been more fortuitous. "Blake and Roger remembered us and understood our vision for Valor Mortis," Ratusznik notes.
At the time the studio was operating with roughly 40‑50 employees, a size that made any major staff cut a potentially catastrophic decision. Fortunately, the team had retained enough reserves from earlier successes to weather the funding gap without resorting to layoffs.
"It was a leap of faith, trusting that we’d secure a publisher and keep the crew intact. Building a cohesive development team is hard; dismantling it is all too easy," he reflects.
Since then, the studio has grown to over 70 staff members, though not all are dedicated to Valor Mortis – a portion are already engaged on an as‑yet‑unannounced project. The company’s approach to scaling differs from many AA peers who rely heavily on external contractors. For instance, Sandfall Interactive, during the production of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, supplemented its core 30‑person team with a large network of outsourced talent.
One More Level, by contrast, keeps the majority of asset creation in‑house, outsourcing only quality assurance and a few specialized marketing tasks. Lead designer Łukasz Wabik explains, "We contract external QA and a small studio for trailer work, but the bulk of art, animation, and programming stays within our walls." Looking ahead, Ratusznik says the studio’s future staffing will be directly tied to Valor Mortis’s commercial performance. "If the game succeeds, we’ll likely expand, but we won’t rush to become a AAA powerhouse.
Maintaining control over our creative process is paramount." Valor Mortis itself distinguishes itself through a blend of influences and original design choices. Its combat system, presented from a first‑person perspective, evokes the deliberate, weighty swordplay of Dark Souls, while the death mechanic—leaving behind items upon defeat—mirrors that series’ risk‑reward loop.
The inclusion of plasmid‑like abilities nods to BioShock’s power‑modulation, offering players a range of supernatural attacks that contrast with the historically grounded setting. The decision to anchor the narrative in the early 19th‑century Napoleonic Wars was intentional: the era is underexplored in video games, providing a fresh canvas that separates Valor Mortis from the crowded fantasy and sci‑fi markets. Ratusznik recounts the early brainstorming phase: "We initially toyed with a story where Napoleon himself was possessed by a dark entity.
That concept felt too over‑the‑top, so we pivoted toward a more grounded narrative. The horror elements remain, but they’re tied to the brutal realities of war rather than a demonic emperor conquering the world." The final vision blends historical authenticity with speculative horror. Players traverse battle‑scarred battlefields, encounter mutated soldiers, and confront grotesque manifestations of war‑time trauma—all while wielding period‑appropriate weaponry augmented with otherworldly powers. The studio believes this hybrid approach will resonate with gamers seeking both familiar tactical combat and an unsettling, atmospheric story.
In summary, One More Level’s saga—from Ghostrunner’s breakout success, through funding turbulence, to the partnership with Lyrical Games—illustrates the precarious yet resilient nature of the AA segment. Their upcoming title, Valor Mortis, aims to prove that mid‑budget games can deliver AAA‑level experiences without the massive financial risk, provided publishers are willing to place their trust in talented, determined developers.