"We’ll likely need several more Expedition 33s to finally convince skeptics" – Valor Mortis creator argues publishers should trust AA projects

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 production values of full‑blown AAA blockbusters. Their breakthrough came in 2020 with Ghostrunner, a cyber‑punk action platformer that earned rave reviews and moved an estimated 5.6 million copies worldwide, according to Video Game Insights.

The title’s 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 landscape is under pressure. In recent years, capital for mid‑budget projects has dried up just as competition has intensified. Smaller publishers tend to gravitate toward ultra‑low‑budget titles—often under $1 million—while the major houses pour resources into evergreen AAA franchises.

Even record‑breaking AA hits such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have struggled to secure reliable financing, illustrating how precarious the middle ground has become. "We pulled off a massive hit with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, yet many publishers still view the AA segment as a gamble," explains Radek Ratusznik, One More Level’s game director, during a GamesIndustry.biz interview at Gamescom. "We’ll probably need a handful of Expedition 33‑type successes before the industry finally changes its tune. One hit isn’t enough; we need a pattern.

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 cannot replace the need for adequate development time. "The technology today lets us craft better games faster and cheaper, but you still can’t finish a polished title in a single year without compromising quality.

Publishers who push for extreme compression risk releasing an unfinished product, and that’s a risk we’re not willing to take." One More Level’s journey to find a publishing partner for its upcoming title, Valor Mortis, has been a roller‑coaster. The studio’s earlier titles, Ghostrunner and its sequel, were released under Italy’s 505 Games, a subsidiary of Digital Bros. Digital Bros announced a 30 percent staff reduction in late 2023 as part of a restructuring effort, casting doubt on future collaborations.

Valor Mortis was initially slated for release through Private Division, the indie‑focused label owned by Take‑Two Interactive. However, in 2024 Take‑Two began to scale back Private Division, with CEO Strauss Zelnick emphasizing a strategic shift toward AAA blockbusters: "We’re in the business of making great big hits." Private Division’s assets were sold, and the label re‑emerged in 2025 as Fictions, now behind titles such as Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation. When the Private Division deal fell apart, One More Level briefly considered self‑publishing Valor Mortis.

"We quickly realized that to achieve the quality we envision, we needed a partner with publishing muscle," Ratusznik admits. Enter Lyrical Games, a publishing venture spun out of the film company Lyrical Media—the same studio that produced 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. "The response we get—people saying we’re an oasis in a desert—is both humbling and a little terrifying, because we can only do so much," Rochkind told GamesIndustry.biz last year. He cited Clair Obscur as the archetype of the kind of AA title he hopes to champion.

"If we could have a game like that on our roster, it would be a dream." Timing proved fortuitous. "Blake and Roger remembered us and were already familiar with the project," says Ratusznik. "Their belief gave us a lifeline when we needed it most." At the height of the funding scramble, One More Level employed roughly 40‑50 staff members.

Rather than resort to layoffs, the studio leaned on its own reserves to weather the uncertainty. "We had saved enough from previous successes to keep the team intact, which was a difficult but crucial decision," Ratusznik explains. "Building a cohesive development team takes years; dismantling it is far too easy." As the October 13 launch of Valor Mortis approaches, the studio has expanded to over 70 employees, though not all are dedicated to the title; some are already working on a confidential follow‑up project. Many AA studios augment their core teams with external contractors for larger undertakings—Sandfall Interactive, for example, relied heavily on outside talent while creating Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

One More Level, however, strives to keep the majority of 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 within our walls." Looking ahead, the studio says its growth will be contingent on Valor Mortis’s performance. "If the game succeeds, we’ll likely scale up, but we don’t intend to morph overnight into a AAA powerhouse," Ratusznik says. "We want to retain control over our creative direction and maintain the culture that got us here." Valor Mortis is a first‑person action RPG that blends familiar mechanics with a fresh historical backdrop.

Its combat draws inspiration from Dark Souls‑style boss encounters and the punitive death penalties that force players to lose items on defeat. Meanwhile, the game’s plasmid‑like abilities echo the power‑up systems of BioShock.

The true differentiator, however, is its setting: the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. By situating a horror‑infused, slightly fantastical narrative within this period, the developers aim to stand out in a crowded market. Ratusznik explains the search for an under‑used setting. "We initially toyed with something more recognisable, akin to Bloodborne’s gothic fantasy, but we wanted a period that felt both specific and underexplored.

The Napoleonic era offered that blend of historical gravitas and narrative flexibility." Early story concepts were even more outlandish. "Our narrative team first pitched a Napoleon possessed by an eldritch force," Ratusznik recalls.

"We eventually pivoted to a grounded, horror‑driven tale that focuses on the brutal realities of war, with just enough supernatural flavor to keep it intriguing. The final product is less about a demonic emperor and more about the terror that war itself can unleash." First‑person swordplay, combined with the period‑accurate weaponry and the game’s unique mutations, forms the core of Valor Mortis’s unique selling points.

"Our USPs are the setting, the combat feel, and the subtle horror elements," Ratusznik says. "Players will recognize the historical backdrop but experience it through a fresh lens of mutation‑driven horror, which we think hits a sweet spot between familiarity and novelty." In summary, One More Level’s odyssey—from the triumph of Ghostrunner to the funding turbulence surrounding Valor Mortis—highlights the fragile yet resilient nature of the AA sector. With the backing of a film‑industry‑derived publisher, a steadfast internal team, and a bold vision for a historically‑infused action RPG, the studio hopes to demonstrate that mid‑budget games can still deliver blockbuster‑level experiences without the massive risk premiums that currently deter many publishers.