In thevideo game industry,AAA (Triple-A) is a term used to classifyvideo games produced or distributed by a mid-sized ormajor publisher, which typically have higher development and marketing budgets than other tiers of games. The term originated in the 1990s and 2000s as development budgets for high-profile video games, such asFinal Fantasy VII, grew into the tens of millions of U.S. dollars. Such costs were incurred due to the use of cinematiccutscenes andvoice acting, coupled with higher fidelity graphics made possible with video game hardware.
By the late 2010s and early 2020s, the boundaries of the AAA label had become increasingly fluid as development budgets rose and production pipelines grew more complex. Some industry commentators noted that the escalating cost of producing large-scale titles encouraged publishers to invest primarily in established franchises, leading to fewer experimental projects within the AAA space. Others argued that advancements in game engines, digital distribution, and crowdfunding allowed smaller studios to achieve production values approaching those of traditional AAA teams, further blurring categorical distinctions. AAA games also began heavily to rely onmicrotransactions and operating aslive service games.[1] Such changes led to the growth of theindie game market in the mid 2010s, as well as other categories of games, such as AA games, representing works by smaller teams but with the quality and approach used in AAA games.
The term "AAA" began to be used in the late 1990s by game retailers attempting to gauge interest in upcoming titles.[2] The term was likely borrowed from the credit industry'sbond ratings, where "AAA" bonds represent the safest investment opportunity and are the most likely to meet their financial goals.[3]
One of the first video games to be produced at ablockbuster or AAA scale wasSquareSoft'sFinal Fantasy VII (1997),[4] which cost an estimated$40–45 million (inflation adjusted$78–88 million) to develop,[5][6] making it themost expensive video game ever produced up until then, with its unprecedentedcinematicCGI production values,movie-like presentation and innovative blend of gameplay with dynamic cinematiccamerawork.[7] Its expensive advertisement campaign was also unprecedented for a video game,[8] with a combined production and marketing budget estimated to be$80–145 million (inflation adjusted$129–234 million as of 2020[update]).[9][6] Its production budget record was later surpassed bySega AM2'sShenmue (1999), estimated to have cost$47–70 million (inflation adjusted$73–109 million as of 2020[update]).[10]
By theseventh generation of video game consoles (late 2000s), AAA game development on theXbox 360 orPlayStation 3 game consoles typically cost in the low tens of millions of dollars ($15m to $20m) for a new game, with some sequels having even higher total budgets – for exampleHalo 3 is estimated to have had a development cost of $30m, and a marketing budget of $40m.[11] According to awhitepaper published forEA games (Dice Europe), the seventh generation saw a contraction in the number of video game developing houses creating AAA level titles, reducing from an estimated 125 to around 25, but with a roughly corresponding fourfold increase in staffing required for game development.[12]
Triple-A titles produced during the late 1990s and early 2000s brought a shift towards more narrative-driven games that mixed storytelling elements with gameplay. The earlier widespread adoption ofoptical media from early-1990s had brought elements likecutscenes, and the advances in real-time3D graphics in the mid-1990s further drove new ways to present stories; both elements were incorporated intoFinal Fantasy VII. With larger budgets, developers were able to find new innovative ways to present narrative as a direct part of gameplay rather than interspersed into pre-rendered cutscenes, withHalf-Life one of the first of these new narrative games to nearly eliminate cutscenes in favor of interactive storytelling mechanisms.[13][14]
During the seventh generation, AAA (or "blockbuster") games had marketing at a similar level to high-profile films, with television, billboard and newspaper advertising; a corresponding increasing reliance on sequels, reboots, and similarly franchisedIP was also seen, in order to minimize risk. Costs at the end of the generation had risen as high as the hundreds of millions of dollars – the estimated cost ofGrand Theft Auto V was approximately $265m. The same conditions also drove the growth of theindie game scene at the other end of the development spectrum, where lower costs enabled innovation and risk-taking.[15]
At around the period of transition from seventh to eighth generation of consoles, the cost of AAA development was considered by some to be a threat to the stability of the industry.[16] Staffing and costs for eighth generation games increased; atUbisoft, AAA game development involved 400 to 600 persons foropen world games, split across multiple locations and countries.[17] The failure of a single game to meet production costs could lead to the failure of a studio –Radical Entertainment was closed[dubious –discuss] by parentActivision despite selling an estimated one million units on console in a short period after release.[18][unreliable source][19][unreliable source] Triple-A games also began to lose uniqueness and novelty; a common trend were a range of "grey brown"first-person shooters that drew on the popularity of theMedal of Honor andCall of Duty series but did little to advance gameplay improvements.[20][21] Ubisoft game director Alex Hutchinson described the AAA franchise model as potentially harmful, stating he thought it led to eitherfocus group-tested products aimed at maximizing profit, and/or a push towards ever higher graphics fidelity and impact at a cost of depth or gameplay.[22]
The limited risk-taking in the AAA arena and stagnation of new gameplay concepts led to the rise ofindie games in the early 2010s, which were seen as more experimental. This also led to the creation of the "AA" market in the industry, larger studios that were not at the scale of AAA developers but had more experience, funding, and other factors to make them distinct from the smaller teams usually associated with indie studios.[21]
AAA game development has been identified as one environment wherecrunch time and other working pressures that negatively affect employees are particularly evident.[23][24]
In a 2023 report by the UKCompetition and Markets Authority which blocked theproposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft it was stated that AAA games that were greenlit for a potential release in 2024 and 2025 received an average development budget of $200 million and up an increase from an average of a $50 million to $150 million from 2018.[25] Court documents presented in a case accusing Activision of contributing towards theUvalde school shooting revealed that the budgets for threeCall of Duty games released between 2015 and 2020 had budgets of $450 million to $700 million.[26]
In general use, the term "AAA+" (Triple-A-Plus) may refer to a subset of AAA games that are the highest selling or have the highest production values. However, there are at least two more specific meanings.
The first describes AAA games with additional methods of revenue generation, generally through purchases in addition to the cost of the base game.[27] The desire for profitability has caused publishers to look at alternativerevenue models, where players continued to contribute revenue after the initial purchase, either bypremium models,DLC,online passes, and other forms ofsubscription.[16] In the mid 2010s large publishers began a focus on games engineered to have along tail in terms of revenue from individual consumers, similar to the wayMMO games generate income – these included those with expansion or season pass content such as withDestiny,Battlefield, and theCall of Duty series; and those which generated revenue from selling in-game items, sometimes purely cosmetic, such asOverwatch orLeague of Legends.[27] Titles of this type are sometimes referred to as "AAA+". In 2016,Gameindustry.biz described AAA+ games as products that "combine AAA production values and aesthetics withSoftware as a Service (SaaS) principles to keep players engaged for months or even years".[28]
"AA" orDouble-A games are mid-market video games that typically have some type of professional development though typically outside of the large first-party studios of the major developers; these may be from larger teams of indie developers or from smaller non-indie studios. Double-A studios tend to range from 50 to 100 people in size.[29] A double-A development studio will typically be backed by a publisher but not fundamentally part of that publisher, and thus have somewhat more freedom to innovate and experiment compared to triple-A studios, though will still be constrained by specific risk-limiting targets and goals from their funding source. Double-A games generally tend to be priced lower compared to triple-A games. Examples of games considered to be double-A titles includePUBG: Battlegrounds,DayZ,[30] andClair Obscur: Expedition 33.[31]
"III" (Triple-I) has been used to refer toindependently funded ("indie") games that meet an analogous quality level in their field; i.e., indie games that have relatively high budget, scope, and ambition;[32] often the development team includes staff who have experience working on full AAA titles.[33]
In 2018,GamesIndustry.biz considered examples of III games to includeAncestors: The Humankind Odyssey,Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, andThe Witness.[33]
Starting in 2020 leading up to the launch of thePS5 and theXbox Series X, two studios started using the termAAAA (Quadruple-A) to describe upcoming games in development. Microsoft's studio, The Initiative, was working on its debut titlePerfect Dark for Xbox that was self-described as being a AAAA game, though the game would end up being cancelled.[34]
Ubisoft announcedBeyond Good and Evil 2 andSkull and Bones would both be AAAA games.[35] Despite the announcements, there is no agreed-upon definition for the term AAAA or what it entails. Olivia Harris ofScreen Rant noted in September 2020 that "it hasn't been adopted by the game industry at large," adding that "perhaps it's just the latest self-aggrandizingbuzzword conjured up to help games stand out in their incredibly competitive field."[35]
The console video game industry lacks the equivalent of aB movie,made-for-TV, ordirect-to-video scene. However, titles such asDeadly Premonition andBinary Domain have been dubbed "B games" due to developingcult followings or accruing significant amounts of critical praise despite widely acknowledged flaws, with critics often noting that such a game's ambitions in the face of budget limitations add to the game's charm (a trait common among B movies). Games like this are the exception and, when they are not critically well-received, are often referred to as "bargain bin" titles.[16] The termshovelware has also been used to describe games that are quickly made without great care for the quality of the product as to make easy sales to consumers, as a metaphor for shoveling material onto a pile. Licensed video gametie-ins for films often tend to be considered shovelware, for example.[36][37]
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