Saber Interactive has significantly changed the way it develops its games, with most of its production now taking place outside North America. Although the company continues to operate its headquarters and publishing activities from the United States, chief creative officer Tim Willits says Saber no longer maintains any substantial game development operation in the region. The decision, according to him, is primarily driven by the rapidly increasing cost of producing major games in the US and Canada.

Willits estimates that a large North American AAA studio can spend more than $2 million every month simply to maintain its development workforce. Over a five-year production cycle, salaries alone could reach approximately $120 million. Once marketing, publishing, outsourcing and other expenses are included, the total budget of a single project can quickly approach $150 million. For Saber, such figures dramatically increase the financial pressure on every new release and require extremely strong sales simply to recover the initial investment.

The company has therefore expanded its development network across countries including Serbia, Armenia, Georgia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Argentina and Australia. Willits believes experienced developers, artists and animators can deliver AAA-quality work without being based in expensive technology hubs such as California. He pointed to SnowRunner as one of Saber's most successful examples. The game reportedly required an investment of around $6 million while eventually generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. He also claimed that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was developed for roughly one-third of the budget of a major unnamed North American production, despite selling 11 million more copies.

Saber's strategy reflects a wider debate currently affecting the gaming industry. Smaller and more controlled budgets can reduce the number of copies a game must sell to become profitable, potentially allowing publishers to take more creative risks. However, international development also benefits from major differences in salaries and operating costs between regions. Saber may have found a more sustainable production model for its own projects, but Willits' comments also highlight a larger shift in the global games industry, as publishers increasingly look beyond North America when deciding where their future development teams will be based.