AA games can sell at AAA levels with a budget that's ten times smaller, believes the head of Jagex

The CEO of Jagex, the developer behind the iconic MMORPG RuneScape, Jon Bellamy, gave an interview to the portal The Game Business. During the conversation, he touched on the topic of AA games and their commercial potential.

According to Bellamy, AA games have suddenly become one of the “lifelines” for the gaming industry, which has been experiencing a significant crisis in recent years. He pointed out that their development costs are vastly lower than those of AAA games, yet if successful, the sales can be comparable.

“You can take a $400 million budget and There’s not many of them left, but you can still take a swing with that kind of thing, but you can also take a swing with a tenth of that. And deliver not so different results if you get it right,” stated the top executive.

As an example of a recent AA hit, Bellamy cited Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which, according to official data, sold 3.3 million copies in its first 33 days. The head of Jagex believes that it, along with some other similar games, has become something of a guiding star for many developers. Especially for those from large companies who have become disillusioned with the AAA segment.