The AA Oasis: How One More Level Survived the Industry Funding Drought

In the volatile landscape of modern video game development, the "AA" tier—projects that occupy the space between modest indie experiments and gargantuan, hundreds-of-millions-dollar AAA spectacles—has become a hazardous zone. For Polish studio One More Level, the last two years have served as a high-stakes masterclass in corporate resilience. After weathering the collapse of their publishing partnerships, the team behind the hit Ghostrunner series found an unexpected lifeline in the form of a film-industry-backed newcomer, Lyrical Games.

As the industry grapples with shifting investment trends and a pervasive "blockbuster-or-bust" mentality, the story of Valor Mortis offers a critical look at the precarious state of mid-tier development and the creative spirit required to sustain it.

The Shrinking Middle: A Crisis of Confidence

For over a decade, One More Level has built a reputation for delivering high-polish, high-intensity action titles that punch well above their weight class. Their 2020 breakout, Ghostrunner, was a definitive success, racking up over 5.6 million units sold. Yet, despite such empirical proof that mid-tier games can dominate the market, the studio found that past successes offered little protection against the current "funding winter."

The gaming industry is currently defined by a bifurcation of capital. Major publishers are increasingly obsessed with "evergreen" live-service titles that promise perpetual revenue, while smaller, risk-averse publishers are pivoting toward micro-budget projects costing less than $1 million. The "middle class" of gaming—projects with budgets ranging from $10 million to $50 million—is being squeezed out.

"We had this enormous success with our previous titles, but still, publishers find the AA segment quite risky," says Radek Ratusznik, Game Director at One More Level. "We probably need a few more massive hits to just prove them wrong. Maybe one success is not enough. There are so many companies capable of delivering high-quality, mid-tier titles without spending hundreds of millions, yet we are treated as if the risk is insurmountable."

A Chronology of Uncertainty

The road to the October 13 release of Valor Mortis has been anything but linear. The studio’s trajectory mirrors the chaotic consolidation and restructuring seen across the global games industry.

• The 505 Games Era: Initially, One More Level enjoyed a fruitful relationship with the Italian publisher 505 Games, a subsidiary of Digital Bros. However, late 2023 saw a seismic shift as Digital Bros initiated a 30% workforce reduction, forcing the studio to look elsewhere for their next venture.
• The Private Division Pivot: Hope arrived in the form of Private Division, the indie-focused label under Take-Two Interactive. The partnership seemed like a perfect fit, but the corporate winds shifted again. In 2024, Take-Two announced a strategic retreat from the mid-tier sector, with CEO Strauss Zelnick explicitly stating the firm’s intent to focus solely on "big hits."
• The Near-Collapse: With the Private Division deal disintegrating, One More Level faced a binary choice: slash their headcount and pivot to self-publishing, or risk everything on a search for a new partner.
• The Lyrical Games Rescue: In 2025, the studio found its "oasis in the desert." Lyrical Games, a spin-off from film production house Lyrical Media (the team behind The Death of Robin Hood), was established by industry veterans Blake Rochkind and Roger Kurtz. Having worked with the studio previously, the pair recognized the potential of Valor Mortis and stepped in to secure the project’s future.

The Economics of Keeping the Team Intact

Perhaps the most striking aspect of One More Level’s struggle is their refusal to succumb to the "layoff culture" that has plagued the industry since 2023. At the height of their funding crisis, the studio maintained a workforce of 40–50 people.

"We had our own savings from back in the day, so we were able to live through the time and not cut the team," Ratusznik explains. "It was not easy. We did this kind of leap of faith. The team is worth it—it’s very hard to build a proper team, and it’s very easy to destroy it."

This philosophy stands in stark contrast to the standard corporate response of mass layoffs to appease shareholders during lean times. By protecting their core talent, One More Level has managed to scale up to over 70 employees as they approach the launch of Valor Mortis, all while maintaining a commitment to in-house development. While many contemporary studios rely heavily on external outsourcing to keep costs low, One More Level insists on keeping the "creative soul" of the game within their own walls.

Implications for the Mid-Tier Market

The successful rescue of Valor Mortis by Lyrical Games highlights a growing trend: the convergence of film and gaming finance. Just as Annapurna Interactive leveraged its prestige in cinema to create a unique publishing identity, Lyrical Games is positioning itself as a haven for developers who refuse to compromise on production values.

However, the industry cannot rely solely on "saviour" labels. The implication for developers is clear: if you are working in the AA space, you must differentiate yourself through extreme niche-targeting.

Ratusznik and lead designer Łukasz Wabik have leaned into this by selecting a setting that is historically grounded yet aesthetically distinct: the Napoleonic Wars, reimagined through a lens of dark, visceral horror. By blending the high-stakes, "souls-like" combat mechanics with a unique period-piece setting, the studio is attempting to carve out a space that is immediately recognizable yet fresh enough to defy the market’s current obsession with safe, established intellectual properties.

Looking Ahead: The Future of One More Level

As the release of Valor Mortis nears, the mood at the studio is one of cautious optimism. The game’s USP—its first-person swordplay and its gritty, mutant-infested take on the 19th century—is performing well in early previews.

"If it is successful, we’re probably going to grow with it," Ratusznik notes. "But we don’t want to just change immediately into some AAA company. We’ll feel comfortable if we can control the stuff that is happening. We want to be the ones deciding the quality, not a spreadsheet."

The industry at large should take note. One More Level’s survival suggests that while the "AA" segment is currently neglected by traditional publishing giants, the hunger for high-quality, mid-budget experiences remains high among players. If Valor Mortis succeeds, it may serve as the proof-of-concept that developers need to argue that "bigger" does not always mean "better," and that a studio’s greatest asset isn’t a massive marketing budget, but the stability and cohesion of the team that builds the world.

For now, the Polish studio stands as a testament to the fact that while the industry may be in a state of flux, the demand for creative, well-crafted, and human-led game design is far from extinct. The "oasis" might be small, but for those willing to brave the desert, it is exactly where the most interesting work is being done.