Gaming is going through complicated times, with increasingly high budgets and excessive production times. It makes sense for companies to bet on projects that are a safe choice, which is why many AAA games follow the same formula. The co-creator of The Last of Us is concerned about the current state of the industry, and during an interview he directly mentioned God of War Laufey.

While the conversation covered a variety of topics, the creative’s comments about Santa Monica Studio’s upcoming title caught the attention of Internet users. After the news went viral, the developer felt the need to clarify his words and offer an apology.

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Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Director Shares His Thoughts on Modern AAA Games

Bruce Straley is one of the industry’s most recognized creatives, having worked on major AAA games such as Uncharted 4 and the original The Last of Us throughout his career. The developer left Naughty Dog in 2017, and it took years for him to reveal why he left the company.

In 2025, Straley said he had grown tired of the monotony of working on similar challenges, so he felt the need to find new ones. That led him to step away and start working on his own project: Coven of the Chicken Foot. At the time, he also criticized his former studio.

Recently, Bruce Straley reappeared in an interview with Edge magazine, where he discussed the current state of the video game industry. During the conversation, the creative criticized the current model that shapes a large percentage of AAA blockbusters.

The former Naughty Dog developer says that games from major companies take few risks, and he gave an example that generated a lot of discussion: God of War Laufey, the next installment in the action-fantasy franchise. While he praised the visuals of Santa Monica Studio’s game, he said he finds it unexciting.

“God of War Laufey. I look at that game and every pixel is amazing. The amount of work and skill that went into every frame... I’ve made that kind of game and I’m still impressed. But when I look at what they’re doing with that game, I’m not excited,” the creative commented.

Bruce Straley said that it is not “a personal thing against the God of War team,” but he pointed out that, in general, he feels that modern AAA games offer “no opportunity to inject fresh or innovative ideas.”

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Following Controversy, Bruce Straley Apologizes for His Comments About God of War Laufey

As expected, Bruce Straley’s comments did not go unnoticed. The former Naughty Dog creative’s statements were quickly shared across social media and news outlets, inevitably drawing negative attention to PlayStation’s upcoming video game.

After realizing the stir his opinion had caused, Bruce Straley published a thread on X in which he acknowledged that he was wrong to mention God of War Laufey directly. He also apologized to everyone at Santa Monica Studio.

“I want to apologize to the Laufey team for dragging you all into this unwanted and unnecessary negative attention. I was trying to illustrate my concern about the industry, and my mistake of naming your game is being used out of context and for clickbait. You don’t need this. I’m sorry,” the developer acknowledged.

In a follow-up post, Bruce Straley was candid and said he “screwed up” by mentioning God of War Laufey, as his only goal was to reflect on the state of the industry and share some possible solutions to the problems affecting it.

“I have ideas about what is wrong and the potential serious damage that has been done to our industry, and about how we might fix it. But in trying to have a thoughtful conversation, I screwed up and mentioned Laufey, and that was my mistake,” the former Naughty Dog developer commented.

The creative continued making his point, saying that releases such as BioShock, Half-Life 2, Uncharted 2, Gears of War, and The Last of Us “established the model for modern AAA video games.” He also criticized companies’ insistence on wanting to jump on the live-service games trend.

Naughty Dog is currently working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, its next AAA production; however, Neil Druckmann has already confirmed that more The Last of Us projects are in development.

But tell us, do you agree with Bruce Straley’s comments about the upcoming PS5 exclusive? Do you think he needed to apologize? Let us know in the comments.