Bruce Straley, director of The Last of Us, sparked drama in gaming circles by criticizing major AAA titles like God of War Ragnarok as visually stunning but artistically stagnant and uninspired. He later clarified his remarks were about the AAA industry's lack of innovation broadly, not attacking the Ragnarok team specifically. Straley now runs indie studio Wildflower Interactive with a contrarian philosophy of small teams creating unique, experimental games—exemplified by his upcoming title Coven of the Chicken Foot.