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 the polish of big‑budget AAA titles. Their breakout hit, the cyber‑punk platformer Ghostrunner, arrived in 2020 to rave reviews and strong sales—Video Game Insights estimates put its worldwide shipments at roughly 5.6 million copies. The success was followed by a sequel in 2023, cementing the studio’s status as a reliable source of high‑quality, mid‑range games. Despite these achievements, the broader AA market is under pressure.
In recent years, investment streams have thinned just as the competitive landscape has intensified. Smaller publishers tend to gravitate toward low‑budget projects under $1 million, while the industry giants pour resources into evergreen AAA franchises. Even titles that have demonstrated massive commercial potential—such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33—still face an uphill battle when it comes to securing financing. "Our big win with Expedition 33 proved the model works, yet many publishers still see AA as a risky bet," explains Radek Ratusznik, game director at One More Level, during a GamesIndustry.biz interview at Gamescom.
"We’ll probably need several more Expedition‑type successes before the skeptics change their minds. One hit isn’t enough; the industry needs a track record of midsized triumphs." Ratusznik adds that modern development tools allow studios to produce higher‑quality games more efficiently, but there are limits.
"The technology today lets us iterate faster and potentially cut costs, but you can’t compress a full production into a single year without sacrificing quality. A game still needs adequate development time, thorough testing, and a proper launch window.
Publishers who push for an extreme squeeze are asking for trouble." One More Level’s latest project, Valor Mortis, illustrates the roller‑coaster reality of finding a publishing partner for a mid‑tier title. The game is slated for release on 13 October and represents the studio’s most ambitious effort since Ghostrunner.
Their earlier titles were handled by 505 Games, an Italian label owned by Digital Bros. Digital Bros announced a 30 % staff reduction in late 2023 as part of a restructuring plan, casting uncertainty over future collaborations.
Initially, Valor Mortis was set to launch under Private Division, the indie‑focused arm of Take‑Two Interactive. However, in 2024 Take‑Two began scaling back Private Division to concentrate on AAA blockbusters, with CEO Strauss Zelnick stating, "We’re in the business of making great big hits." The shift left One More Level without a publisher and forced the studio to contemplate self‑publishing.
"We considered going it alone, but maintaining the quality we envisioned required additional resources that only a publisher could provide," says Ratusznik. "That’s when Lyrical Games entered the picture." Lyrical Games is a publishing venture spun out of Lyrical Media, the film company behind the Hugh Jackman picture The Death of Robin Hood. Founded in 2025 by former Private Division executives Blake Rochkind and Roger Kurtz, Lyrical Games positions itself as an oasis for AA developers amid a desert of risk‑averse investors.
"When people tell us we’re an oasis, it’s flattering but also intimidating," Rochkind told GamesIndustry.biz last year. "We want titles like Clair Obscur on our roster—it would be a dream." For One More Level, the timing was perfect. "Blake and Roger remembered us and understood our vision," Ratusznik notes. "Their familiarity with the project gave us confidence that they could champion it." At the time Valor Mortis was seeking funding, the studio employed roughly 40‑50 staff members.
Rather than resort to layoffs, the team leaned on reserves saved from earlier successes. "We had enough cash on hand to ride out the uncertainty," Ratusznik explains. "It was a leap of faith, but we believed in our people.
Building a cohesive development team is hard; tearing it down is far easier." Since then, the headcount has risen to over 70, though not all employees are dedicated to Valor Mortis—some are already working on an undisclosed follow‑up title. Many AA studios augment their core teams with external contractors for art, programming, or QA. Sandfall Interactive, for example, kept a core of about 30 developers while outsourcing a large portion of work on Expedition 33.
One More Level, however, strives to keep the majority of production in‑house. Lead designer Łukasz Wabik clarifies the studio’s approach: "We outsource QA and a few marketing assets, but most of the game’s art, animation, and programming are done internally. That gives us tighter creative control and helps maintain a consistent vision." Looking ahead, the studio plans to scale up further if Valor Mortis meets commercial expectations. "Success would allow us to grow organically, but we don’t want to jump straight into AAA territory overnight," Ratusznik says.
"We prefer a measured expansion that lets us retain control over our processes and culture." Valor Mortis itself is a first‑person action RPG that blends influences from several celebrated franchises. Its combat system evokes the methodical, high‑stakes encounters of Dark Souls, while the plasmid‑style abilities nod to BioShock’s power‑up mechanics.
What truly sets the game apart is its historical backdrop: the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. By anchoring a fantasy‑horror narrative in a real‑world conflict, the developers aim to differentiate the title in an increasingly saturated market.
Ratusznik describes the setting choice as a deliberate search for untapped thematic ground. "We initially toyed with a more generic, Bloodborne‑style fantasy, but we wanted something that felt fresh yet recognizable.
The Napoleonic era offered a rich tapestry of drama, politics, and warfare that hadn’t been overused in games." Early story concepts even flirted with supernatural twists—one pitch imagined Napoleon himself possessed by a dark force. Over time, the narrative gravitated toward a more grounded, horror‑inflected portrayal of war’s brutality, with only subtle fantastical elements.
"We moved from a dark‑fantasy Napoleonic saga to a horror‑driven war story with occasional mutations and eerie phenomena," Ratusznik explains. "The focus is on the human cost of conflict, not on a demon emperor conquering the world." First‑person swordplay, another unique selling point, further distinguishes Valor Mortis. "Our USP is the combination of an authentic historical period, horror ambience, and visceral melee combat," Ratusznik says.
"Players get to experience a familiar epoch through a fresh lens, complete with mutated enemies and a tense, atmospheric tone." In summary, One More Level’s journey—from the triumph of Ghostrunner, through funding turbulence, to the partnership with a film‑industry‑derived publisher—illustrates both the challenges and opportunities facing AA developers today. Their commitment to in‑house creation, careful scaling, and innovative storytelling underscores a belief that mid‑tier games can thrive if given the right support. Valor Mortis, with its blend of historical setting, horror aesthetics, and refined combat, aims to be the next proof point that AA titles deserve publisher confidence and player attention alike.