Call of Duty Reveals Massive Development Budgets

Call of Duty's Record-Breaking Budgets: A Look at the Rising Costs of AAA Game Development

Recent disclosures reveal that Activision's Call of Duty franchise has reached unprecedented heights in terms of development costs, with budgets for some titles soaring to an astonishing $700 million. This surpasses even the massive budget of Star Citizen, highlighting the escalating financial investment required for top-tier video game production.

The sheer scale of AAA game development is staggering. These projects often span years, demanding immense resources and significant financial commitments. While the indie game scene thrives on smaller budgets secured through platforms like Kickstarter, the AAA landscape operates on a vastly different scale. Blockbuster titles consistently push the boundaries of cost, dwarfing even those considered "expensive" in the past. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Last of Us Part 2, previously considered high-budget productions, pale in comparison to the newly revealed Call of Duty figures.

Court filings from December 23rd, as reported by Game File, unveiled the budgets for three Call of Duty games: Black Ops 3, Modern Warfare (2019), and Black Ops Cold War. Black Ops Cold War, with a budget exceeding $700 million, leads the pack. This title, developed over several years, achieved sales exceeding 30 million copies. Modern Warfare (2019), boasting a development cost of over $640 million, sold an impressive 41 million copies. Even Black Ops 3, with the lowest budget among the three at $450 million, still significantly outpaces the $220 million development cost of The Last of Us Part 2.

Black Ops Cold War: A $700 Million Milestone

The budget for Black Ops Cold War stands as the highest ever recorded in the video game industry, eclipsing even Star Citizen's substantial $644 million development cost. This is particularly noteworthy considering Black Ops Cold War's funding came from a single company, unlike Star Citizen's eleven-year crowdfunding campaign.

Considering the upward trend in game development budgets, it's intriguing to speculate on the potential costs of future installments like Black Ops 6. The industry's financial landscape has dramatically shifted since 1997, when the groundbreaking Final Fantasy VII, with its then-massive $40 million budget, redefined graphical and technical standards. Activision's recent revelations serve as a powerful illustration of the ever-increasing costs within the modern video game industry.