Saber Interactive confirms no real development in North America
Saber Interactive's chief creative officer Tim Willits has confirmed that the studio no longer maintains real game development operations within North America. While the company retains its headquarters and publishing team in the United States, all active development work is now conducted across 15 studios located globally, including Serbia, Armenia, Georgia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Argentina, and Australia.
Willits explained this strategic shift to GamesIndustry.biz, emphasizing that companies must be "smart about where you make your game." He noted that Saber is open to establishing studios anywhere in the world, rejecting the notion that talent is geographically limited. "You don't need to be in California to be a brilliant programmer or artist or animator," Willits stated, contrasting their approach with publishers who hesitate to work in unfamiliar territories.
The studio's history reflects this evolution. Before becoming independent from Embracer Group in 2024, Saber owned several North American studios, including Aspyr in Texas, Demiurge Studios in Boston, Tripwire Interactive in Georgia, and Shiver Entertainment in Florida. However, following the split, Aspyr, Demiurge, and Tripwire remained with Embracer, while Shiver was sold to Nintendo in May 2024. Additionally, Beamdog in Canada stayed within the Embracer fold.
Saber Interactive still owns New World Interactive, which maintains offices in Denver and Calgary. New World is the developer behind Insurgency: Sandstorm, a shooter that received a major update in May 2026. The studio previously underwent layoffs in 2023 ahead of its separation from Embracer.
Willits was also critical of the high costs associated with traditional large-scale North American development. He cited SnowRunner, which cost $6 million to develop, as a stark contrast to major titles that can cost up to $150 million. "Sometimes I play these games... and I can just see the wasted money," he said, noting that a game like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 cost only a third of what a major North American studio spent recently but sold 11 million more copies.
According to Willits, big studios often run at a burn rate of over $2 million per month. If it takes five years (60 months) to make a game, salaries alone can reach $120 million, with marketing and publishing costs pushing the total toward $150 million. He argued that while each game might only return around $25 in profit per unit, the sheer volume required to break even makes the current model unsustainable for many developers.
Willits concluded that the math simply doesn't work for massive budgets without massive sales returns. "You've got to sell a buttload, that's the problem," he said. The full interview with Willits regarding these industry insights will be published later today on GamesIndustry.biz.
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