adminProbablyMonsters AA games are designed to offer distinctive worlds and focused single-player adventures at a more manageable scale than blockbuster productions. The studio’s recent releases and upcoming projects recall the variety of the Xbox 360 era, when publishers took chances on more unusual ideas. Chief marketing officer David Reid says the company is building a deliberate portfolio—not simply releasing games at random.
Why ProbablyMonsters is focusing on AA games
In the 2000s, major publishers often released a broad mix of games. Since then, development budgets have risen and production has taken longer, contributing to smaller release schedules. Ubisoft, for example, published four games in 2025, compared with more than 60 in 2000.
ProbablyMonsters was founded in 2016 by former Bungie chief Harold Ryan with ambitions to reshape AAA development. After nearly a decade without releasing a game, the company changed direction last year and moved toward AA projects. Ryan said the market had changed and the studio needed to adapt.
Rather than treating its new slate as a scattershot experiment, Reid describes it as a way to establish a recognizable identity. The goal is for players to associate the ProbablyMonsters name with games that feel distinct.
New projects draw on pulp and action influences
The studio released Storm Lancers and Ire: A Prologue at the end of 2025. It has since announced Crimson Moon and Nekome: Nazi Hunter. The latter is directed by Jeronimo Barrera, a former Rockstar Games vice president of product development.
Both announced games lean into graphic action. Nekome: Nazi Hunter takes inspiration from Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, while Crimson Moon has been compared to a more gory take on Darksiders. Reid says the AA format gives developers room to explore game mechanics and original intellectual property that might be harder to pursue in other settings.
Nekome: Nazi Hunter debuted with a highly violent teaser trailer. | Image credit: ProbablyMonsters
Crimson Moon has visual and action-adventure similarities to Darksiders. | Image credit: ProbablyMonsters
Marketing spend is adjusted to manage risk
AA games occupy a challenging middle ground. Their budgets are generally below AAA levels, but they still require meaningful investment. At the same time, they may not have the earning potential of a major live-service hit. Smaller publishers often spread their risk across lower-budget projects, while larger companies tend to prioritize established franchises and high-revenue opportunities.
Reid says ProbablyMonsters plans to manage risk by scaling paid marketing according to a game’s response from players, press, platform partners, and the wider community. If early signals are encouraging, the company can increase its marketing investment; if a title struggles, it can reduce that spend. This approach avoids spending heavily on every release before there is evidence of audience interest.
Marketing may ultimately cost more than development for a successful game, Reid notes, but broad, unfocused promotion is not a reliable strategy. For readers assessing an upcoming release, the practical takeaway is to look for signs of sustained audience interest rather than treating a large promotional push as proof of likely success.
Early sales show why publishing matters
Available Steam estimates suggest the first releases have had limited reach. Storm Lancers recorded an all-time peak of 29 concurrent players on Steam, while Video Game Insights estimates 831 Steam sales. Ire: A Prologue reached a peak of 22 concurrent players, with estimated Steam sales of 415. Both games also released on the Epic Games Store; Storm Lancers additionally launched on Nintendo Switch, but figures for those platforms are unavailable.
These figures represent only the reported Steam activity and estimates, not total sales across every platform. Reid acknowledges that the results could have been stronger. He says a new publisher must first prove it can ship games and find an audience, but long-term success requires titles to perform both critically and commercially.
Storm Lancers draws on a Saturday-morning-cartoon style. | Image credit: ProbablyMonsters
ProbablyMonsters has responded by strengthening its publishing operation. Reid joined in March alongside Jonathan Lander as chief publishing officer and Mark Subotnick as chief product officer. Reid’s career includes senior roles at Behaviour Interactive, CCP Games, Trion Worlds, and Xbox Platform Marketing.
Single-player adventures and a return to discovery
Reid previously advised Makko AI, a 2D game creation platform, but says he does not consider himself an AI enthusiast. He has also stated that ProbablyMonsters’ games do not use generative AI. In his view, players are not seeking games written by machines; his current focus is on publishing original games.
The Xbox 360 era is a useful reference point for the company’s direction, particularly for Crimson Moon. Reid says he wants the portfolio to offer discovery, escapism, new worlds, and tightly focused single-player experiences. That emphasis contrasts with the ongoing structure of live-service games, where extended play can offer less of the sense of moving through a self-contained story.
Despite the modest reported Steam figures for its first releases, Reid says the company remains resilient after its strategic shift. ProbablyMonsters plans to continue developing premium single-player projects and expects to reveal more games in the months ahead.
What ProbablyMonsters AA games aim to deliver
ProbablyMonsters AA games target a space between blockbuster productions and very small indie projects: enough room for distinctive concepts, paired with a more controlled approach to production and promotion. The studio’s next challenge is to turn that creative direction into games that connect with audiences and achieve commercial success. Its focus on original worlds and concise single-player experiences will be central to whether this Xbox 360-inspired portfolio can stand out.
