"Call of Duty Unveils Huge Development Costs"

Summary

• Call of Duty games have set new records with budgets reaching up to $700 million.
• Black Ops Cold War's $700 million budget surpasses even Star Citizen.
• Rising AAA game budgets highlight the escalating costs in the video game industry.

Activision has disclosed the budgets of three Call of Duty games, with some reaching impressively high figures ranging from $450 to $700 million. These massive Call of Duty development budgets mark the highest ever seen for the franchise, with Black Ops Cold War at the top.

Creating video games is an intricate process that spans several years and demands significant financial investment. While indie games often thrive on modest budgets raised through platforms like Kickstarter, the AAA gaming sector operates on an entirely different scale. The costs of developing blockbuster titles have steadily escalated over the years, dwarfing the budgets of games that were once considered expensive. Among the most costly games ever developed are Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Last of Us Part 2. Yet, these pale in comparison to the recently revealed budgets for Call of Duty titles.

As reported by Game File, Patrick Kelly, Activision’s head of creative on the Call of Duty franchise, disclosed in a California court filing on December 23 the budgets for Black Ops 3, Modern Warfare (2019), and Black Ops Cold War. The latter's development costs exceeded $700 million. Black Ops Cold War, which took several years to develop, sold over 30 million copies. Modern Warfare, with a development investment of more than $640 million by Infinity Ward, sold 41 million copies. Black Ops 3, despite having the smallest budget of the three at $450 million, still significantly outpaces The Last of Us Part 2's $220 million development cost.

Black Ops Cold War Exceeded $700 Million in Development Costs

The budget for Black Ops Cold War represents the highest ever recorded in video games, even surpassing Star Citizen’s $644 million in development costs. This is remarkable considering Black Ops Cold War was funded solely by Activision, while Star Citizen relied on crowdfunding over an 11-year period.

It's intriguing to consider how much the costs for games like Black Ops 6 might have risen since Black Ops Cold War's release in 2020. The trend indicates that budgets are increasing annually. For instance, the 1997 release of Final Fantasy 7, a groundbreaking game in terms of graphics and technology, had a budget of $40 million, which was considered enormous at the time. Today, that figure seems modest compared to the budgets of modern AAA games. Activision's recent budget disclosures clearly illustrate the rising costs within the video game industry.