Rockstar cofounder Dan Houser’s recent criticism of the AAA model has sparked pushback from two veteran developers on social media. The publishing director behind Baldur’s Gate 3 argues that a massive budget does not automatically doom a game, and suggests that the real problem lies in how public entertainment companies are managed, not in the amount of money being spent.

The director of Baldur’s Gate 3 does not believe that a big budget automatically results in a poor game. Still, he suggested that the public company model does not work in the entertainment industry. In response to a recent interview with Houser, in which the former Grand Theft Auto writer suggested that the gaming industry focuses too much on making money, Duke Nukem 3D co-writer George Broussard responded. Michael Douse believes that the problem lies more with the people working in the traditional product development process than with the budgets themselves, and that it is easier than ever to find an audience. Broussard wrote on Twitter:

“Welcome to 2006. Once games started costing $30 million to make during the Xbox 360 era, versus $3-5 million in the early 2000s, and then jumped to $100-250 million, it was all over for originality and risk-taking. Publishers can’t afford to take a risk with that much money. This is why you’ve seen AAA games become bi-yearly sequels of the top 20–25 IP, and why you see so few new games. Nobody can afford to take risks anymore. But this isn’t new. It’s been this way for 20 years. It’s certainly worse today, given the exorbitant cost of an AAA game. So, either people will stop buying sequels, or the industry will adapt. AAA tried service/GaaS games and largely failed and fizzled out,” said Broussard.

I mean, welcome to 2006. Once games (the 360 era) started costing $30 million to make, vs $3-5 million in the 2000ish era, then jumped to $100-250 million – it was all over for originality and risk taking. Publishers can’t afford to take a risk with that much money.

This is why… https://t.co/WXrRraMFtB

— George Broussard🕹️ (@georgebsocial) November 24, 2025

“I don’t think it’s true that a big budget means poor quality. It just takes everyone involved to be on the same mission, which nine times out of ten is not the case. While you can find an audience (even a large one) more easily than ever, it’s the people in the traditional product pipeline that are the problem. They either don’t understand that, see it as a risk to their business model, or are unable to communicate it to investors. The public company model is broken in entertainment, even though it should be easier than ever to connect audiences with creators. Half of it is dim-witted self-preservation, and the other half is a genuine lack of vision and leadership (or institutional stupidity),” Douse responded.

I don’t think it’s actually true that big budget = shit. It just takes literally everyone involved to be on the same mission, which in 9/10 times is not the case. You can find an audience (even a necessarily large one) easier than ever now, but it’s people in the trad “product…

— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) November 24, 2025

Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games and founder of Absurd Ventures, parted ways with many of his industry colleagues by acknowledging that, although he and his team are working on artificial intelligence, it is not as useful as some companies claim.

Source: Gamesindustry