# Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden wants to save games by bringing back double-A – and he has a plan

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/former-playstation-boss-shawn-layden-wants-to-save-games-by-bringing-back-double-a-and-he-has-a-plan/
- Published: 2026-07-23T13:35:11+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-23T14:13:23+00:00
- Original publisher: Eurogamer
- Original article: https://www.eurogamer.net/playstation-shawn-layden-bringing-double-a-back
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Gaming

## Key points

- Shawn Layden is planning a push to revive double-A games
- Triple-A budgets are described as spiralling and unsustainable
- GTA 6 reportedly cost over $1 billion; smaller teams offer an alternative

## Summary

Former PlayStation worldwide studios chairman Shawn Layden is developing a plan to revive "double-A" games, arguing that ballooning triple-A development budgets have made much of the industry financially unsustainable. He says the games sector has long relied on a publishing model largely unchanged since the early 1990s, which favours ever-bigger blockbuster productions while leaving little room for the mid-sized, more focused titles that could broaden gaming's cultural and commercial appeal.

Layden has previously noted that development costs roughly double each console generation, citing PS4-era top-tier games reaching around $150 million before marketing, with PS5 titles potentially heading towards $300-400 million. Reported examples include The Last of Us Part 2 rising to about $220 million from Uncharted 2's $20 million, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War at a reported $700 million, and Grand Theft Auto 6 estimated at over $1 billion. Double-A games, made by smaller teams of roughly 70 or fewer people and cited examples like Lies of P, RoboCop: Rogue City and Space Marine 2, are pitched as a cheaper, more sustainable alternative that could still find a strong audience.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.