Former Assassin’s Creed Director: AAA Development Is ‘Untenable,’ Go Smaller

This Is Exactly Why AAA Feels So Bloated Right Now

This is the validation gamers needed. The former director for Assassin’s Creed Origins, Jean Guesdon, is sounding the alarm on the scale creep that has infected the entire AAA industry—and honestly, who better to critique the massive open-world model than someone who helped define it?

Guesdon argues that the current approach to making blockbuster games is simply “untenable.” He points to the theory that whenever a creative endeavor surpasses a hundred people, the dynamic fundamentally breaks down. We’ve seen the results: endless crunch, budget explosions, and maps filled with hundreds of icons that feel more like chores than discovery.

The AC Director Confirms the Bloat is Real

Guesdon’s perspective hits particularly hard because Assassin’s Creed often serves as the poster child for this exact problem. While games like Origins and Odyssey were visually stunning, they often suffered from repetitive side-quests and gargantuan scopes that stretched the content thin over 100+ hours. The community has been begging for years for Ubisoft (and others) to pull back and prioritize focus over filler.

“I think the future lies in smaller teams. And maybe we are going to get smaller, more focused games, with less scope, but maybe more heart in the end.”

This isn’t just about saving money; it’s about saving the soul of the gameplay experience. When hundreds of people are involved, the creative vision inevitably gets watered down, filtered through layers of management, and subject to marketing requirements designed for mass appeal, not artistry. If the guy who helped build the machine thinks it’s broken, maybe the industry will finally listen.

The Verdict: Let Smaller Teams Cook

We need fewer 150-hour spreadsheet simulators and more concise, tightly directed adventures. The success of focused titles, even within the indie space, proves that players crave quality and heart over sheer playtime. Hopefully, Guesdon’s insight gives license to major studios to scale back and let smaller, dedicated teams truly innovate.