[Guest post] David Reid: Redefining the Future of AA

Redefining the Future of AA: Rebuilding Gaming’s Missing Middle at ProbablyMonsters

By David Reid, Chief Marketing Officer, ProbablyMonsters

 

 

For much of the last decade, the games industry chased scale.

Bigger worlds. Bigger teams. Bigger budgets. Longer campaigns. More live service features. More monetization.

That ambition produced some remarkable games and pushed our industry to incredible creative and technical heights. But it also created an uncomfortable reality: development cycles stretching beyond five years, budgets climbing into the hundreds of millions, and commercial expectations that leave little room for creative risk.

At the other end of the spectrum, independent developers continue to demonstrate the power of focused creativity. Small teams with bold ideas are producing distinctive experiences that consistently surprise players and expand the boundaries of what’s possible in games.

Both ends of the market are essential to the health of our industry.

Meanwhile, players have more choice than ever before. Libraries are overflowing, and subscription services have expanded access to games. The challenge isn’t finding enough games to play: it’s finding enough time to play them.

At ProbablyMonsters, we believe that’s creating one of the industry’s greatest opportunities. Premium AA games represent the industry’s missing middle: a space between blockbuster productions and independent games where focused scope and premium execution can thrive.

In 2025, we made the deliberate decision to align our portfolio around what we describe as “AA games with AAA sensibilities.” We could see the industry was entering a new phase: one where disciplined scope, distinctive creative vision and exceptional execution would become increasingly important competitive advantages over raw scale. Our philosophy is to create memorable games by concentrating investment where players notice it the most while respecting their most limited resource: time.

We measure ambition by finding what makes a game truly special and working relentlessly on its defining qualities. We focus our effort where it creates the greatest impact for players.

Our upcoming portfolio reflects that philosophy in different ways.

Nekome: Nazi Hunter channels its ambition into an unique creative identity, embracing its grindhouse-inspired presentation, bold premise and visceral combat to create an experience players won’t confuse with anything else.

Crimson Moon takes a different approach, focusing on fast, accessible co-op action RPG gameplay with unmistakable heavy metal vibes that’s immediately fun to pick up and rewarding to master. Launching September 1 at £17.49, our goal is to provide as many players as possible with a polished, replayable premium co-op experience. Premium isn’t defined by price or playtime; it’s defined by the quality and distinctiveness of the experience players have from the moment they pick up the controller.

Different games demand different creative priorities, but both are built around the same philosophy: focused experiences create lasting memories.

That philosophy extends beyond individual products.

Original intellectual property rarely succeeds when it tries to do everything. The franchises that endure begin with a clear point of view, execute it exceptionally well and earn players’ trust over time. That focus gives development teams the freedom to polish the moments players will remember rather than spreading resources across ever-expanding feature lists.

We also believe this creates healthier opportunities to build sustainable studios. When every project requires extraordinary budgets and increasingly lengthy development cycles, fewer original ideas make it to market. Our approach leaves room for creativity, innovation and long-term investment in new franchises.

AAA games will continue to push technological boundaries. Independent developers will continue to redefine what’s creatively possible. Between those two ends of the spectrum lies tremendous opportunity, and we believe we’re only beginning to see what’s possible.

In a world where players have more choice than ever before, we know the games that earn their time will be the ones that define a new generation of successful original IP.

That’s the future we’re building at ProbablyMonsters, and it’s one the industry is increasingly ready to embrace.