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.