The Last of Us game director Bruce Straley has issued an apology for singling out God of War Laufey in a recent discussion about a perceived lack of innovation in triple-A video games. Straley's initial comments, made in an Edge magazine feature, expressed admiration for the technical artistry of games like God of War Laufey but a lack of excitement regarding their gameplay innovations.
"God Of War Laufey, I look at that game, and every pixel is mindblowing," Straley said. "The amount of work and skill that's gone into every single frame… I've made those kinds of games, and I'm still blown away. But when I actually look at what you're doing in the game? I'm not excited. And that's nothing against the God Of War team. Just, across the board in triple-A, it feels like there's no opportunity to inject fresh, innovative ideas."
In a subsequent post on X, Straley clarified that his comment was being misrepresented and used for clickbait. "I want to apologize to the Laufey team for dragging you all into this uninvited & unnecessary negative attention," he wrote. "I was trying to illustrate an industry concern & my mistake of naming your game is being used out of context & for clickbait. You don’t need this. I’m sorry."
Despite the apology to the specific team, Straley maintained his broader point about the state of the triple-A industry. He elaborated on his position through a series of posts, placing blame on what he described as a lack of vision from industry leaders.
"The quest for GaaS & wanting to recreate the next Overwatch, Fortnite, Roblox, etc is not a viable strategy & frankly shows these 'industry leaders' don't know their own brand," Straley stated. "Hot take: There's a lack of good leadership, clear direction & conviction from the ppl at the top, in charge of the money. (Money = stability) I believe if they understand their brand, they could have honest, inspiring conversations w creators to steer our medium to innovate."
Straley departed the triple-A development scene in 2017. He later co-founded the independent studio Wildflower Interactive in 2021, which is currently developing a single-player adventure game titled Coven of the Chicken Foot.