Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch argues AA games are the industry’s future, citing Hellraiser: Revival success

Saber Interactive is the leading the charge against the AAA bloat trend of the games industry, advocating for the mid budget AA games model as the true future of the industry. Their latest game Hellraiser: Revival is a fantastic example of why managing game costs can lead to high user ratings, and a profitable commercial venture. This change in thought is significant as it questions the popular ideology that if a game is expensive it will be successful in this current era.

Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch argues AA games are the industry's future, citing Hellraiser: Revival success

Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch contends that the industry needs to realign priorities from the big blockbuster games to a middle segment range of games. There is definitely a place for AAA games to be done right and funded properly but an AA game model can be more dynamic and progressive for the industry. The mid budget games provide high levels of immersion but with lower price tags, which means less risky for publishers and developers.

Hellraiser: Revival is the main example of this model in action, proving that big IP can work under a smaller development budget. Karch points to the game's PC and Console performance as an example of why good AA game development can be very successful without the AAA bloat. Hellraiser: Revival is finding an audience according to the studio, which reinforces their idea that if you focus on the core game loops, you can have great success.

We've been following Clive Barker's Hellraiser series as it makes its way onto other platforms like the recently announced Switch 2 version. The wider reach proves the mid budget model can still be relevant and spread successfully across multiple ecosystems without the need for big marketing campaigns on the flagship titles. The industry needs to realize that when you focus on well known franchises with smaller budgets, it can be less risky and a better path to profitability rather than betting the farm on untested AAA concepts.

Source: IXBT