One More Level

A Krakow studio built on hardcore action

One More Level S.A. is a Polish game developer based in Krakow, the city its own website calls the heart of Polish game development. The studio was created in 2014 and has grown steadily since; by its own count it had around 70 people working across art, design and programming as of 2024. It makes games for consoles and PC and describes its guiding idea as gameplay first.

The company presents itself as a gathering of industry veterans and newer talent rather than a single founder's project. Its website says it takes on increasingly ambitious work and aims to develop the potential of both its games and its staff. That framing fits a studio whose early catalogue was small in scope and whose later releases have grown considerably larger.

Ghostrunner, the game that defined it

The title most people know One More Level for is Ghostrunner, a fast first-person action game released in 2020. The studio calls it its most known game and says it was widely received, earning a Best Polish Games of 2020 award from the Digital Dragons event. A sequel, Ghostrunner 2, followed and appears among the studio's releases with a run of downloadable content of its own.

Both games are hardcore first-person slashers, the phrase the studio uses for its Ghostrunner work. The genre choice matters to how the company is seen: rather than spreading across many types of game, One More Level built a reputation on difficult, speed-driven combat. The earlier titles in its catalogue are smaller experiments that lead toward that focus, and its site groups them under an other games heading.

Valor Mortis, the next project

One More Level's current project is Valor Mortis, a first-person action soulslike set in an alternate-history version of Napoleonic Europe. Its website describes a blend of brutal combat, supernatural horror and a dark vision of war. The publisher is Lyrical Games, and the game is being made for consoles and PC. It is the studio's first attempt at the soulslike structure, a slower and more deliberate style than the Ghostrunner games.

Valor Mortis casts the player as a soldier of Napoleon's army brought back from a battlefield grave into a Europe gripped by plague. The store page sets a planned launch date of 13 October 2026, after a delay from an earlier window, and a playable demo has been released ahead of the full game. The settings and powers are the studio's own invention rather than a real history.

A studio that trades on the stock market

Unlike most independent developers, One More Level is a publicly traded company. Its shares have been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange's NewConnect market since 2012, when the business operated under the name Laser-Med, and the exchange later reported its move to the main market in 2026. Being public also means its finances and project schedule are reported regularly to investors, not only to players.

That structure shapes how the studio talks about itself. A stock-listed developer has to publish results and updates for investors, so its milestones are visible in a way a private studio's are not. Project reveals and changes of release date therefore sit alongside conventional corporate disclosure, and the company's plans are read by both players and shareholders. For a studio whose value rests on a handful of projects, that transparency cuts both ways.

Gameplay first, and what comes next

The studio's motto is gameplay first, a line its website uses and explains by saying every part of a game should reinforce the player's core experience. In practice its releases lean on tight, difficult combat rather than sprawling systems, and the studio has said it is taking on increasingly ambitious projects as it grows. The phrase is less a slogan than a description of how the studio says it prioritises feel over feature lists.

For a studio built on one strong idea, the risk and the opportunity sit in the same place. Ghostrunner gave One More Level a recognisable identity and an audience that expects a certain kind of challenge; Valor Mortis applies that identity to a new setting and genre. Whether the studio stays a specialist or broadens out is the question its next releases will answer.

Quick facts

Founded: 2014, according to the studio's own about page. Based in: Krakow, Poland. Size: around 70 staff as of 2024, by the studio's count. Known for: Ghostrunner and Ghostrunner 2, both hardcore first-person action games. Current project: Valor Mortis, a first-person soulslike published by Lyrical Games, with a planned 13 October 2026 launch on consoles and PC after one delay.

Other titles listed by the studio include Deadlings, God's Trigger and Warlocks vs Shadows, smaller entries released before Ghostrunner. Recognition: Ghostrunner received a Best Polish Games of 2020 award from Digital Dragons. Ownership: One More Level S.A. is a public company, listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange's NewConnect market since 2012 and, according to the exchange, on its main market from 2026.

Games

• Valor Mortis

Questions people ask