# Last of Us director calls AAA games boring

> Bruce Straley says big-budget games lack fresh ideas, even criticizing God of War's gameplay despite its visual polish.
- Title: Last of Us director calls AAA games boring · IGN | Shortify
- Summary: Bruce Straley says big-budget games lack fresh ideas, even criticizing God of War's gameplay despite its visual polish. The game director who helped define…
- Keywords: bruce straley, the last of us, god of war laufey, aaa games, naughty dog, uncharted, wildflower interactive, coven of the chicken foot, game development, innovation, technology, news
- Source: IGN — https://ign.com/articles/the-last-of-us-game-director-finds-modern-aaa-games-boring-says-hes-not-excited-by-god-of-war-laufeys-gameplay
- Author: Cade Onder
- Published: 2026-09-17T22:09:43.997+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: bruce straley, the last of us, god of war laufey, aaa games, naughty dog, uncharted, wildflower interactive, coven of the chicken foot, game development, innovation, technology, news
## AAA games are boring now
Bruce Straley, game director of The Last of Us and Uncharted, says modern big-budget games lack excitement and fresh ideas.
## God of War looks amazing
Straley praises God of War Laufey's visuals as mindblowing. But he's not excited by what you actually do in the game.

> God of War Laufey, I look at that game, and every pixel is mindblowing.
## No room for innovation
Straley says triple-A development feels like there's no opportunity to inject fresh, innovative ideas across the board.

> It feels like there's no opportunity to inject fresh, innovative ideas.
## He helped create the problem
The irony is that Uncharted and The Last of Us became the blueprint for today's hyper-cinematic third-person action games.
## Burnout drove him out
Straley left Naughty Dog in 2017 after Uncharted 4, experiencing extensive burnout from the intensive AAA development process.
## Now making smaller games
Straley now runs Wildflower Interactive. His first game, Coven of the Chicken Foot, is a big departure from his Naughty Dog work.
## Key takeaway

The game director who helped define modern AAA games now finds them repetitive and lacking innovation.