Recently, Matthew Karch, the head of Saber Interactive, shared his perspective on the future of the gaming industry, suggesting that the era of high-budget AAA games might be drawing to a close. Karch, whose company developed Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, expressed his belief that the massive budgets of $200 to $400 million for AAA games are not only unnecessary but also inappropriate. He went as far as to link these exorbitant budgets to the widespread job losses seen across the gaming sector, stating, "I don't even know the best way to put it...I think if anything has contributed to job losses [mass layoffs in the game industry] more than anything else, it's a budget of a few hundred million dollars [for games]."

The term "AAA" itself is increasingly seen as outdated and irrelevant by many in the industry. Originally used to denote games with large budgets, high quality, and minimal risk of failure, the label has evolved to represent a race for profit that often comes at the expense of quality and innovation. Charles Cecil, co-founder of Revolution Studios, echoed this sentiment, calling the term "silly and meaningless." He noted that the influx of substantial investments from major publishers marked a shift in the industry, though not a positive one. Cecil remarked, "It's a meaningless and silly term. It's a holdover from a period when things were changing, but not in a positive way."

An example of this shift can be seen in Ubisoft's approach with their game Skull and Bones, which they ambitiously labeled as a "AAAA game." This move underscores the industry's evolving dynamics and the reevaluation of what it means to produce a top-tier game in today's market.