We always hear how making AAA games is getting more and more expensive. However, the companies or individuals making those claims seldom justify their statements with figures. Well, in a watershed moment, some new figures have come to light regarding the cost of producing a Call of Duty game.
As shared by GameSpot. A court filing in America detailed how much it costs developers and publishers to produce games. Sadly the games mentioned are all at least four years old.
These figures were provided by Activision’s head creative Patrick Kelly, who is responsible for the Call of Duty games. He revealed the following:
- 2015 – Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Cost Treyarch $450 million and took over 3 years to make.
- 2019 – Modern Warfare – Cost Infinity Ward $640 million
- 2020 – Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Cost Treyarch and Raven Software $700 million.
It is clear that the costs continue to rise, perhaps linked with the growing graphical demands. However, one could argue that several of the games from the Call of Duty franchise would benefit from additional content or DLC instead of a completely new game that bears a striking to the previous generation.
To be fair, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has brought players several holiday-themed updates. Recently the game has also featured Squid Game-themed content and game modes. The argument could be made that by supporting games for a longer period and releasing fewer new games, there would be more time to recoup the costs of development and for companies to turn a healthier profit.
One only needs to look at PUBG, Valorant or Fortnite to see where there’s room for improvement in content offerings and player engagement. Regardless, it’s interesting to get an insight into the costs of development.
