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. The studio first burst onto the global stage with Ghostrunner, a cyber‑punk action platformer that arrived in 2020 to enthusiastic reviews and strong 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, cementing the studio’s status as a serious mid‑tier contender. Despite these achievements, the broader AA segment is currently under pressure.
Investment streams have thinned just as the market has become more crowded, prompting many smaller publishers to retreat to projects under $1 million while the industry giants double‑down on evergreen, high‑budget franchises. Even blockbuster AA hits such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have struggled to secure reliable financing, highlighting the risk‑averse mindset that now dominates the publishing landscape.
"Our huge hit with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 proved the model works, yet publishers still view AA as a gamble," explains Radek Ratusznik, One More Level’s game director, in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom. "We’ll probably need a handful of Expedition 33‑type successes before the skeptics are convinced. One title isn’t enough. 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 cycles and lowered costs, but they haven’t eliminated the need for a reasonable development window.
"We can create better games faster and cheaper than a few years ago, yet you can’t finish a polished title in twelve months without compromising quality. The game still needs time for testing, iteration, and a proper launch. I doubt publishers will allow us to compress that schedule as much as they sometimes wish." One More Level’s latest project, Valor Mortis, illustrates the roller‑coaster reality of securing a publishing partner.
The title, slated for an October 13 release, was originally slated for the indie label Private Division, a subsidiary of Take‑Two Interactive. However, in early 2024 Take‑Two announced a strategic shift toward AAA‑focused projects, prompting parent company head Strauss Zelnick to say, "We’re in the business of making great big hits." As a result, Private Division scaled back its operations, eventually selling its catalogue and re‑emerging as Fictions in 2025, a label now best known for Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation. When the Private Division deal collapsed, One More Level briefly entertained self‑publishing.
"We realized that to maintain the quality we envisioned for Valor Mortis, we still needed a publishing partner," Ratusznik admits. The lifeline arrived in the form of Lyrical Games, a publishing venture spun out of the film production house Lyrical Media—the same company behind the Hugh Jackman film The Death of Robin Hood. Founded in 2025 by former Private Division executives Blake Rochkind and Roger Kurtz, Lyrical Games is one of the few publishers dedicated to mid‑tier projects. "People call us an oasis in the desert, which is both flattering and intimidating," Rochkind told GamesIndustry.biz last year.
He cited Clair Obscur as the archetype of the kind of game Lyrical Games wants to champion. "If we could have a title like that in our catalogue, it would be a dream come true." For One More Level, timing proved perfect. "Blake and Roger remembered us and knew the project inside out," Ratusznik says. At the time the studio was seeking funds for Valor Mortis, it employed roughly 40‑50 staff members.
Rather than resort to layoffs during the uncertain period, the team leaned on reserves accumulated from earlier successes. "We had saved enough to survive the gap without cutting the crew, which was a difficult but necessary leap of faith," Ratusznik explains. "A cohesive team is hard to build and easy to break." The gamble appears to be paying off.
As the launch date approaches, the studio has expanded to over 70 employees, though not all are assigned to Valor Mortis—some are already working on a confidential follow‑up title. Unlike many AA developers that outsource large portions of production, 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 majority of art, animation, and programming is done by our internal team." Looking ahead, the studio says a successful Valor Mortis could justify further hiring, but they are cautious about scaling too quickly. "If the game does well, we’ll grow alongside it, but we don’t want to transform overnight into a AAA studio. Maintaining control over our process is essential," Ratusznik adds.
Valor Mortis itself is a first‑person action RPG that blends influences from several celebrated franchises while carving out its own identity. Its combat and boss design echo the unforgiving difficulty of Dark Souls, and its plasmid‑style abilities recall the power‑ups of BioShock. However, the game’s setting— the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century—sets it apart in a market saturated with fantasy and sci‑fi backdrops.
Ratusznik explains the choice: "We wanted a period that hadn’t been overused. The 19th century initially seemed too familiar, reminiscent of Bloodborne’s gothic vibe, so we pivoted toward the Napoleonic era, which offered a fresh historical canvas with plenty of dramatic potential." Early narrative concepts were even more outlandish.
"One of the first pitches imagined Napoleon possessed by a malevolent entity," Ratusznik recalls. "We eventually shifted to a grounded, horror‑tinged interpretation. The game still contains fantastical elements—mutations, eerie atmospheres—but it’s rooted in the grim realities of war rather than a demon‑riding emperor conquering the world." First‑person swordplay, combined with the period‑specific aesthetic, forms the core of Valor Mortis’s unique selling points.
"Our USPs are the setting, the combat, and the horror‑infused atmosphere," says Ratusznik. "Players will recognize the historical backdrop, yet the mutations and supernatural overtones give it a fresh twist. It’s the sweet spot between familiarity and novelty that we hope will resonate with gamers." In summary, One More Level’s journey from a funding crisis to a partnership with a film‑industry‑derived publisher illustrates both the challenges and opportunities facing AA developers today.
By preserving an in‑house talent pool, carefully selecting a distinctive setting, and aligning with a publisher that shares its mid‑tier vision, the studio aims to prove that AA games can still capture both critical acclaim and commercial viability. If Valor Mortis meets expectations, it could serve as the next Expedition 33 needed to shift industry perception and encourage more publishers to place their bets on ambitious, mid‑budget titles.