Saber Interactive's Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits has stated that the company is no longer focusing on game development within North America, with operations now primarily situated in global subsidiaries. While the company maintains its US headquarters, development activities have been moved overseas. This strategic shift aims to leverage talent and reduce costs associated with North American development.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom, Willits explained that Saber is "not afraid of any territories" and actively seeks talented individuals across the globe. He contrasted Saber's approach with what he described as “wasted money” in many triple-A games, pointing to the success of Saber's Space Marine 2 as an example of cost-effective development. Willits claimed Space Marine 2 cost one-third of an unspecified recent triple-A release and achieved significantly higher sales.
Willits elaborated on the financial disparities, noting that large North American development studios can have monthly burn rates exceeding $2 million. He cited Snowrunner as a Saber title that generated hundreds of millions of dollars on a $6 million development budget, a cost equivalent to just three months of development time in California. "So just run the math on that," he said. "If it takes [a big studio] five years to make a game, that's 60 months, that's $120 million just in salaries."
Saber reportedly has development offices in Serbia, Armenia, Georgia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Argentina, and Australia, facilitating this international development model. Willits also touched upon "overspecialization" among developers as a contributing factor to broader industry challenges, though he suggested the crisis may not be as severe as often portrayed.