Bruce Straley apologized to the God of War Laufey team after his remarks that recent AAA games are “boring” drew backlash. He said naming the game brought its developers unwanted attention; his criticism addressed what he sees as an industry-wide lack of innovation.
In the interview, Straley praised Laufey’s visual work but said its gameplay did not excite him. He said he feared players were tiring of repeating the same gameplay actions and blamed a lack of innovation on leadership and those controlling budgets. He cited Half-Life 2, Gears of War, BioShock, Uncharted 2 and The Last of Us as big-budget games that built something new. He also argued that executives pursuing games-as-a-service models in the mold of Overwatch, Fortnite and Roblox had lost sight of their studios’ purpose.
