Tim Willins, the chief creative officer of Saber Interactive, recently disclosed that the company has essentially ceased any substantial game‑development activities on the North American continent. While Saber still maintains its corporate headquarters and a publishing division within the United States, the actual creation of games now takes place across a network of fifteen studios scattered around the globe. These studios are located in a diverse set of countries, including Serbia, Armenia, Georgia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Argentina and Australia, reflecting a deliberate shift toward a truly international development model. The background to this transformation stretches back to Saber’s relationship with the Embracer Group.
Until the corporate split in 2024, Saber served as the parent company for several well‑known North‑American studios: Aspyr in Texas, Demiurge Studios in Boston, Tripwire Interactive in Georgia, and Shiver Entertainment in Florida. When Saber spun off from Embracer, the three studios—Aspyr, Demiurge and Tripwire—remained under Embracer’s ownership, while Shiver was sold to Nintendo in May 2024. Another Embracer‑affiliated studio, Beamdog in Canada, also stayed with the parent group. Despite the overall retreat from North‑American development, Saber still retains ownership of New World Interactive, a studio with offices in Denver, Colorado, and Calgary, Alberta.
New World is best known for the 2018 tactical shooter "Insurgency: Sandstorm," which received a substantial content update in May of this year. The studio endured a round of layoffs in 2023 as Saber prepared for its eventual separation from Embracer, but it continues to operate under the Saber umbrella. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Willins emphasized that modern game publishers need to be "smart about where you make your game." He argued that geographic flexibility is no longer a luxury but a necessity in an industry where talent can be found in virtually any corner of the world. "We are not afraid of any territories," he said.
"Some publishers shy away from markets they don’t fully understand, but we take a different approach: we go out, locate skilled developers, give them the resources they need, and create great experiences together. You don’t have to be based in California to be a brilliant programmer, artist, or animator." Willins also used the interview to criticize the tendency of large North‑American studios to pour excessive money into blockbuster projects without a clear return on investment. He cited a recent, unnamed game as an example of wasteful spending, noting that the development budget for "Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2" was roughly one‑third of the cost of a major title that launched only a few months earlier from a big North‑American studio, yet the latter sold 11 million more copies.
"You don’t need to spend $150 million to make a billion‑dollar franchise," he asserted. He went on to break down the numbers: many big studios in the United States burn through $2 million or more in salaries each month. By contrast, Saber’s own title "SnowRunner," which has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, cost the company just $6 million to develop—equivalent to roughly three months of a California‑based studio’s payroll.
If a large studio takes five years (about 60 months) to finish a game, the cumulative salary expense alone can reach $120 million. Adding marketing, publishing, and other ancillary costs can easily push the total budget beyond $150 million, while the profit per unit sold may only be around $25. "The math just doesn’t work," Willins concluded. "You have to sell an enormous number of copies to break even, and that’s the core problem." The interview underscores a broader industry trend toward decentralization and cost efficiency.
By leveraging talent in regions with lower operating expenses, Saber hopes to maintain high production values while keeping budgets manageable. This strategy also aligns with the growing acceptance of remote collaboration tools, cloud‑based development pipelines, and cross‑border creative partnerships that have become commonplace after the pandemic. Saber’s shift is not merely about cutting costs; it reflects a philosophical belief that creativity thrives wherever passionate individuals gather, regardless of geography.
Willins believes that by empowering studios in Serbia, Armenia, or Argentina, Saber can tap into fresh perspectives, cultural nuances, and unique design sensibilities that might be harder to find in traditional hubs like Los Angeles or Seattle. This global talent pool, he argues, can produce games that resonate with a worldwide audience while avoiding the financial pitfalls of over‑inflated development cycles. The full interview with GamesIndustry.biz provides additional context and quotes, illustrating how Saber’s leadership envisions the future of game development as a borderless, collaborative endeavor.
As the industry continues to evolve, companies like Saber Interactive may serve as a model for how to balance artistic ambition with fiscal responsibility, proving that great games can be built outside the conventional corridors of power in North America.