Saber CEO thanks Asmongold for Space Marine 2 take calling modern games “too complex”

The CEO of Saber Interactive has called out the complexity of modern games while thanking Asmongold for his take on Space Marine 2.

Space Marine 2 has quickly become the most-played Warhammer 40K game of all time. It’s loaded with references for hardcore fans but its visceral combat and stunning visuals are enticing enough to draw newcomers in.

Our own review called it ‘the Warhammer game fans have been waiting for’ and they’ve lined up to prove us right. Space Marine 2 has also become a bit of a darling amongst major content creators with the likes of Asmongold singing its praises.

In his reaction to a video from Legendary Drops called ‘Space Marine 2 is a reminder of what we lost’, Asmongold complimented the game for its simplicity and similarity to games from the early 2010s. Matthew Karch, CEO of the game’s development studio Saber Interactive, popped into the comments to thank Asmongold for the support and gave his own take on the current gaming landscape.

“When we signed the deal to make Space Marine 2, all I wanted was a throwback game. We had the chance to work on something which by its nature was ‘old school’,” Karch explained after revealing he was a fan of Asmongold. “I can’t even comprehend many of the current games that we play these days. They are too complex and too much of an investment.”

The video that Asmongold was initially reacting to complimented Space Marine 2 for its simple story and gameplay loop. The streamer echoed the sentiments with their own thoughts on the no-frills approach claiming he had “forgotten what it felt like to be the target audience”. Karch appeared well pleased with the assessments.

“We worked on Halo back in the day, and that game could be distilled down to the simplest of shooting loops, but it was entirely addicting. That is what we wanted to recapture,” Karch elaborated.

A brief reflection on his own time in Embracer Group revealed that Space Marine 2’s development was directly impacted by it.

“I spent some time as Chief Operating Officer at Embracer and I saw games there that made me want to cry with their overblown attempts at messaging or imposing morals on gamers,” he expressed. “We just want to do some glory kills and get the heart rate up a little.”

The Saber CEO mentioned Black Myth: Wukong and Space Marine 2 as hopeful signs of “a reversion to a time when games were simply about fun and immersion”.