The creative director of Saber Interactive, Tim Willits, continues to delight the media with bold statements.
SnowRunner
In an interview with GamesIndustry, he admitted that the company has ceased all development in North America. Meanwhile, the company maintains its headquarters and publishing team in the United States.
According to him, Saber currently has a total of 15 studios. They are spread across eight countries: Serbia, Armenia, Georgia, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, and Australia. He did not mention Russia, where the main production facilities were previously concentrated.
“There are no locations we're afraid of. Some publishers are wary of working in regions they don't understand, but we look at it differently: let's go, let's find talented people, give them everything they need, and create something cool. You don't have to be in California to be a brilliant programmer, artist, or animator.”
Before separating from Embracer in 2024, the situation was somewhat different. Under Saber’s control were:
- Aspyr in Texas (plus the acquired Canadian Beamdog);
- Demiurge Studios in Boston;
- Tripwire Interactive in Georgia;
- Shiver Entertainment in Florida.
After Beacon Interactive bought Saber from Embracer, the first three (Aspyr, Demiurge, and Tripwire) remained with Embracer, while Shiver was sold to Nintendo in May 2024.
It remains unclear what has happened to Denver's New World Interactive, the developer of Insurgency: Sandstorm. Formally, the studio stayed with Saber, and its service support continues, but could Willits' words mean that the project has been handed over to another division?
The company’s top manager explains the decision to cease operations in the states as economically viable. “Companies need to be smart about where they develop their game,” said Willits.
“Here's the problem: large North American development studios are burning through more than $2 million a month. Per month. SnowRunner, which brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, cost us $6 million. In California, that's literally three months' worth of development expenses. Just do the math. If [a large studio] makes a game over five years, that's 60 months, or $120 million just in salaries.”
“The math just doesn’t add up… To recoup all that, you have to sell a damn lot of copies. That's the problem,” concludes Willits.