Tim Willins, the chief creative officer of Saber Interactive, recently disclosed that the company has essentially ceased any substantial game‑development activity on the North American continent. While the corporate headquarters and the publishing division remain rooted in the United States, the actual creation of games now takes place in a network of fifteen studios scattered across 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 dates back to Saber’s separation from its former parent, Embracer Group, in 2024.
Prior to the split, Saber oversaw several North‑American subsidiaries: Aspyr in Texas, Demiurge Studios in Boston, Tripwire Interactive in Georgia, and Shiver Entertainment in Florida. When the corporate restructuring occurred, Aspyr, Demiurge and Tripwire elected to stay with Embracer, while Shiver was sold to Nintendo in May 2024.
Another Embracer‑linked studio, Beamdog in Canada, also remained under Embracer’s umbrella. Consequently, the only North‑American development entity that stayed with Saber after the divestiture is New World Interactive, which maintains offices in Denver, Colorado, and Calgary, Alberta.
New World is best known for the 2018 tactical shooter *Insurgency: Sandstorm*, a title that received a significant post‑launch update in May. The studio, however, experienced a wave of layoffs in 2023 as Saber prepared for its eventual split from Embracer. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Willins emphasized the importance of being "smart about where you make your game." He explained that Saber is actively looking to establish or partner with studios in any region that can provide the right talent, regardless of geographic location. "We are not afraid of any territories.
Some publishers are hesitant to operate in markets they don’t fully understand, but we say, ‘let’s go, let’s find skilled people, give them the resources they need, and create something amazing.’ You don’t have to be in California to be a brilliant programmer, artist, or animator," he said. Willins also took the opportunity to criticize the industry’s tendency toward excessive budgets for blockbuster titles.
He recounted watching a high‑profile game—without naming it—and observing what he described as "money literally falling out of the monitor." He contrasted that with the development cost of *Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2*, which, according to him, cost roughly a third of what a major North‑American studio spent on a comparable recent release, yet sold 11 million more copies. "You don’t need to spend $150 million to make a billion‑dollar hit," he asserted.
He went on to break down the financial dynamics of large studios in the United States. "Big North‑American development houses can burn $2 million or more each month," Willins explained. By comparison, Saber’s own title *SnowRunner*—a game that has generated hundreds of millions in revenue—cost the company about $6 million to develop, which equates to just three months of work at a Californian studio’s rate. "If a big studio takes five years to finish a game, that’s 60 months, or $120 million in salaries alone," he calculated.
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.
You have to sell an enormous volume to break even, and that’s the core problem," he concluded. Willins’ comments highlight a broader industry trend: the decentralization of development talent and a growing awareness that high production costs do not necessarily translate into proportionally higher returns. By leveraging cost‑effective studios in regions with lower overhead and tapping into a worldwide pool of creative talent, Saber aims to produce high‑quality games without the financial bloat that has plagued many high‑profile releases in recent years. The full interview with GamesIndustry.biz provides additional insight into Saber’s strategic outlook and Willins’ perspective on the future of game development across borders.