Split Fiction Creative Director Hopes Publishers Don’t Abandon AAA Games to Chase AA Trend

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Joseph Fares, the creative director at Hazelight Studios, is known for developing games that go against the grain, such as last year’s co-op adventure, Split Fiction. However, he’s expressed some worry about the recent increase in ‘AA’ games. In an interview with The Game Business, Fares discussed the success of titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and what it suggests about a growing trend of game development with lower budgets.

He admitted that while those games are excellent, creating a new *Grand Theft Autolevel title simply isn’t feasible with a $10 million budget. He also believes the gaming industry needs a variety of game types and hopes it avoids focusing solely on mid-budget, or ‘AA’, games going forward.

He noted the recent success of games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has led to talk of AA games becoming dominant, but he stressed the importance of big-budget AAA titles as well. You simply can’t create a game on the scale of GTA with a smaller budget. He believes we need a variety of games – both AA and AAA – to thrive. He cautioned against seeing AA or indie games as completely new trends, and warned publishers not to overreact to a single success like Expedition by focusing only on AA development. He pointed out that many AA games released this year went largely unnoticed, reminding everyone that diversity in game development is key.

The discussion turned to the balance between risk and reward in game development. Christopher Dring pointed out that high-budget, or ‘AAA,’ games often avoid big risks. However, Fares countered that studios like Naughty Dog demonstrate how large budgets can be used to innovate and try new things. He believes AAA games can still be risky to some degree, but admitted that extremely expensive projects – costing, for instance, $100 million – naturally make companies more cautious.

He disagrees, saying that developers like Naughty Dog, Rockstar, and often Nintendo are already successfully innovating even with large budgets. He explains that once a game’s budget exceeds $100 million, the financial risk increases, making teams more cautious – which is understandable, but not a barrier to innovation, as it is possible to take risks and succeed.

Fares explained that Hazelight Studios embraces taking chances. He said their approach is to be willing to fail, but always while prioritizing the well-being and security of their team.

We believe it’s important to be bold and push boundaries, even if it means making mistakes along the way. Taking risks allows us to innovate and explore new possibilities. If we’re too cautious or afraid to fail, it stifles creativity and isn’t good for progress. This approach will always be our priority, regardless of how much money we have available.

Of course, we have a responsibility to deliver. People rely on us for their livelihoods, so we need to be accountable to those funding the project and ensure we meet our goals. That means creating a high-quality game and working diligently to achieve excellent results.

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2026-01-14 18:41