Former God of War Director Gives a Warning to Major Publishers

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Meghan Morgan Juinio, who previously led the studio behind God of War, is advising major game publishers to avoid relying only on expensive, large-scale AAA games. While the gaming industry and its games have become more ambitious, several large companies have faced lower-than-expected sales and financial challenges. Juinio is sharing her perspective on how companies can navigate these issues and avoid potential setbacks.

The *God of War* series is a hugely popular and successful video game franchise. The 2018 reboot was a major hit, and rumors suggest another *God of War* game is in the works – it could be a direct sequel set in Egypt, or a spin-off exploring a different style of gameplay. Although details are scarce, excitement for the future of the series is strong. However, a former leader of the team has hinted that the game industry might benefit from focusing a little less on these large-scale, expensive AAA titles.

Former Santa Monica Studio Head Says Big Publishers Should ‘Look to Diversify into Double-A and Single-A’

Juinio, the former Co-Head and Director of Product Development at Santa Monica Studio, recently shared his thoughts with Game Developer. He believes that after the pandemic, major game companies have become overly focused on large, expensive AAA games. Juinio emphasized the importance of creativity and innovation, suggesting that studios could find more success by investing in smaller, more experimental projects. This perspective is supported by recent sales figures: the game *Split Fiction* sold over four million copies quickly, while highly anticipated titles from EA, like *Dragon Age: The Veilguard* and *EA Sports FC 2025*, didn’t meet sales expectations.

Juinio also pointed out that successful, high-budget games can be very profitable, despite their long development times and high costs. However, she cautioned that simply investing more money in these big titles isn’t a solution to the industry’s current problems – like layoffs, studio closures, and cancelled projects. Even with some recent blockbuster releases, the gaming industry has faced hardship, including thousands of layoffs at Microsoft in 2025 and numerous studio closures and project cancellations. Diversifying into different types of games might be a better approach.

Big-budget AAA games aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Several upcoming titles are costing hundreds of millions of dollars to make—some reports even suggest *GTA 6* could cost a billion dollars! It will be fascinating to see how these massive games perform and influence the industry. We’re still seeing success with smaller, independent games like *Hollow Knight: Silksong*, too. While the future is hard to predict, many experienced people in the gaming world believe the industry needs to explore a wider variety of games to stay healthy.

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2025-10-17 19:35