The Post-AAA Apocalypse: Why Mid-Tier Studios Are Winning 2025

Remember when AAA meant quality? Now it mostly means “another abandoned live service with a $70 price tag and a 120GB download that’s 40% cutscene.”

In 2025, the most exciting games aren’t coming from mega studios. They’re coming from mid-tier devs—those scrappy, mid-budget teams that still remember games are supposed to be fun. The double-A space has become the most fertile ground in gaming: agile enough to take risks, polished enough to compete, and desperate enough to care.

Studios like Sabotage (Sea of Stars), A44 (Flintlock), and NEOWIZ (Lies of P) are doing what the giants won’t—finishing their games, ditching bloat, and giving players exactly what they want: tight mechanics, strong identity, and no “live roadmap” bullshit.

Meanwhile, AAA is crumbling under its own weight. Delays, layoffs, microtransaction hellscapes. Games that feel like committee-built content funnels rather than actual artistic statements. Players are burned out, skeptical, and frankly, broke.

And guess what? That’s great news for the rest of us.

The post-AAA era is here. Long live the mid-tier miracle.

AJ Hanson

AJ Hanson has been part of games media since 2011, writing, streaming, and ranting about the industry long before it was his job. He runs the Galaxy’s Edge Discord, the go-to community for fans of Disney’s Star Wars parks, and works as Marketing Director for the Virtual Cantina Network, helping produce shows, interviews, and fan events. A lifelong Star Wars fan and unapologetic nerd, AJ’s focus has always been on building spaces where people can connect, argue, and celebrate the things they love without all the corporate gloss.