Naughty Dog veteran Bruce Straley has issued a public apology to the God of War Laufey developers at Santa Monica Studio after using the game to illustrate how AAA production has stagnated in an interview with Edge, as part of a feature now available to read in the magazine’s Knowledge newsletter.
“I want to apologize to the Laufey team for dragging you all into this uninvited & unnecessary negative attention,” Straley writes in a September 18 Twitter post. “I was trying to illustrate an industry concern & my mistake of naming your game is being used out of context & for clickbait. You don’t need this. I’m sorry.”
Let me remind you of the original context. Straley spoke to Edge for issue 428 – currently available for purchase – about how he finds AAA development, and especially the money men that fund it, “boring.” He mentioned God of War Laufey as a big-budget title he finds visually attractive but seemingly unsatisfying in gameplay, saying, “Every pixel is mindblowing. The amount of work and skill that’s gone into every single frame… I’ve made those kinds of games, and I’m still blown away.”
“But,” he added, “when I actually look at what you’re doing in the game? I’m not excited.”
Straley disclaimed at the time, “That’s nothing against the God Of War team. Just, across the board in AAA, it feels like there’s no opportunity to inject fresh, innovative ideas.”
So now, the game vet behind behemoths like The Last of Us and Uncharted 2 doesn’t quite take back what he said, but he is more repentant.
Straley reiterates in his Twitter thread that, during his Edge interview, “I mentioned a few concerns. One being the lack or innovation & risks taken in the AAA space. Tho this isn’t the [God of War Laufey] team’s fault! My fear is that our player base is getting tired of playing the same verbs for the last 20 years.”
He names other examples, including his own work, as what formed “the ‘modern AAA’ mold”;
“Half-life 2 was released in 2004, [Gears of War]: 2006, Bioshock: 2007, Uncharted 2: 2009, The Last of Us: 2013,” Straley says. “Each felt like they were trying to create a new experience within AAA.”
But too many executives would rather chase fleeting live-service success in the hope of becoming the next Fortnite rather than take a chance. A truly innovative game has the potential to stick around as long as Half-Life 2, but the fact that these types of games rarely get the AAA red carpet “frankly shows these ‘industry leaders’ don’t know their own brand,” Straley says.
The developer continues, “Hot take: There’s a lack of good leadership, clear direction & conviction from the ppl at the top, in charge of the money. (Money = stability) I believe if they understand their brand, they could have honest, inspiring conversations w creators to steer our medium to innovate.” I don’t think that’s controversial to say at all. But Straley maintains that, “In trying to have a thoughtful conversation I stuck my foot in my mouth & mentioned Laufey, and that was my mistake.”