Over the last dozen years, the Warsaw‑based studio One More Level has built a reputation for delivering AA‑grade experiences that often rival the polish of AAA releases. Their breakthrough came in 2020 with Ghostrunner, a cyber‑punk action platformer that earned widespread critical praise and, according to Video Game Insights, moved roughly 5.6 million copies. The sequel arrived in 2023, reinforcing the studio’s knack for high‑octane, visually striking titles. Despite these successes, the broader AA market is under pressure.
Investment streams have thinned just as competition has intensified. Smaller publishers increasingly gravitate toward ultra‑low‑budget projects—often under $1 million—while the industry giants double‑down on evergreen, blockbuster franchises. Even games that have demonstrated massive sales potential, such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, still encounter a skeptical funding environment. “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was a huge hit, yet many publishers still view the AA segment as risky,” explains Radek Ratusznik, One More Level’s game director, in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom.
“We probably need several more Expedition 33‑type successes to change that perception. One hit isn’t enough.
There are plenty of studios capable of delivering solid AA titles without blowing a few hundred million dollars. “Thanks to today’s tools we can create higher‑quality games a bit faster and maybe at a lower cost, but we can’t simply crank out a finished product in a single year without sacrificing quality. Proper development time, testing, and polishing are still essential, and I doubt publishers will allow us to compress that schedule to the extreme they sometimes desire.” One More Level’s latest project, Valor Mortis, has been a roller‑coaster in terms of publisher support. The studio’s earlier titles were released through Italy’s 505 Games, a Digital Bros subsidiary that announced a 30 % staff reduction in late 2023 as part of a restructuring plan.
Valor Mortis was initially slated for release under Private Division, Take‑Two’s indie‑focused label. However, in 2024 Take‑Two began scaling back Private Division, with CEO Strauss Zelnick stating the company would concentrate on AAA hits: “We’re in the business of making great big hits.” Private Division’s catalogue was sold, and the label re‑emerged in 2025 as Fictions, now known for titles such as Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation. When the Private Division deal collapsed, One More Level briefly considered self‑publishing Valor Mortis.
“We quickly realized that maintaining the quality we envision required a publishing partner,” Ratusznik says. Enter Lyrical Games, a publishing spin‑off from the film studio 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 a bit terrifying," Rochkind told GamesIndustry.biz last year.
He cited Clair Obscur as the archetype of the kind of AA title Lyrical Games wants to champion. "Having a game like that in our portfolio would be a dream." The timing proved fortuitous for One More Level. “We were lucky that Blake and Roger remembered us and were already familiar with the project,” Ratusznik notes.
At the time the studio was seeking funding, it employed roughly 40‑50 staff members. Rather than downsize during the uncertain period, the team leaned on savings accumulated from earlier successes.
“We took a leap of faith, trusting that we’d secure the necessary funding. Keeping the team intact was crucial—building a cohesive development crew is hard; dismantling it is far easier," he explains. As the October 13 launch approaches, the studio has grown to over 70 employees, though not all are assigned to Valor Mortis; some are already working on an undisclosed follow‑up.
Many AA studios augment their core teams with external contractors for larger ambitions—Sandfall Interactive, for instance, kept a core of about 30 developers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 but outsourced a substantial amount of work. One More Level, however, prefers to keep production in‑house wherever possible.
Lead designer Łukasz Wabik adds, “We rely on external QA and a small external studio for trailers and marketing tools, but the vast majority of assets are created internally.” Looking ahead, Ratusznik says a strong commercial performance for Valor Mortis could trigger further hiring, but the studio does not intend to transform overnight into a AAA powerhouse. “If the game succeeds, we’ll grow alongside it, but we want to retain control and avoid a sudden shift into a massive AAA operation,” he says.
Valor Mortis is a first‑person action RPG that blends influences from several well‑known franchises. Its combat and boss encounters evoke the unforgiving nature of Dark Souls, while its plasmid‑style abilities recall the power‑mod systems of BioShock. The game’s most distinctive feature, however, is its setting: the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. Ratusznik explains that the team deliberately avoided overused fantasy tropes.
“We initially toyed with a more recognizable, Bloodborne‑like aesthetic, but we wanted something specific. The Napoleonic era offered a fresh historical canvas that still feels familiar to players.” Early narrative pitches even imagined Napoleon himself possessed by a malevolent force. Over time, the story shifted toward a grounded, horror‑infused depiction of the period, focusing on the brutal realities of war rather than a demon‑riding emperor. “We moved from a dark‑fantasy Napoleonic tale to a horror‑driven version with subtle fantasy elements,” Ratusznik says.
This blend of historical authenticity, horror atmosphere, and first‑person swordplay forms the core of the studio’s unique selling points. “Our USPs are the setting, the combat, and the eerie mutations that give the game its distinctive flavor,” he adds. “Players will recognize the era, but the twists we introduce keep the experience fresh and engaging." In summary, One More Level’s journey illustrates the precarious yet resilient nature of the AA sector.
By leveraging internal talent, securing a publisher that understands mid‑tier ambitions, and delivering a game that marries historical depth with modern gameplay mechanics, the studio hopes to prove that AA titles can still capture both critical acclaim and commercial viability, ultimately encouraging publishers to place greater faith in this middle ground of the industry.