Split Fiction Director: Major Studios Like Rockstar, Naughty Dog, and Nintendo Are Redefining AAA Gaming with Bold Innovations

Split Fiction and It Takes Two director Josef Fares is expressing his concerns about the future of AAA games amid what he perceives as a rise in AA titles. However, he acknowledges that some high-profile studios are successfully blending big-budget production with innovative gameplay.

In a recent conversation, Fares highlighted the impressive success of AA games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which dominated the 2025 Game Awards, suggesting that this trend could pose challenges for the AAA sector. “I would not be able to live without a AAA title,” he stated. “I really want to play the blockbuster games.”

The gaming industry is currently experiencing a significant downsizing, affecting major players, but the exact impact of AA development on this shift remains uncertain. There’s a compelling argument that developers with smaller budgets can take greater creative risks since they aren’t as beholden to investor pressures, and the stakes are lower if their projects don’t succeed. Nonetheless, Fares commended several AAA studios for their ability to innovate while managing large budgets.

“I would argue that Naughty Dog is pushing the envelope of innovation with a AAA budget,” he remarked. “I would argue Rockstar is doing it. Nintendo is, most of the time, doing it. So you can create a big AAA title while also taking innovative risks.”

He noted, however, that once budgets exceed $100 million, the pressure increases significantly. “You’re going to be like, ‘okay, there’s a lot of money on the table.’ People are more scared. It’s understandable. But it’s proven that you can do it.”

With upcoming titles like Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and Rockstar’s GTA 6, it remains to be seen if these studios will continue to embrace risk-taking despite their substantial backing. Nintendo, on the other hand, consistently seems to follow its unique creative path.

As for Fares’s Hazelight Studios, the focus is firmly on local multiplayer experiences. “As long as the couch is there, there’s going to be a need for couch co-op,” COO Oskar Wolontis recently shared.