Record-Breaking Call of Duty Budgets: A Look at the Rising Costs of AAA Game Development
Recent disclosures reveal that Activision's Call of Duty franchise has set new industry benchmarks, with development budgets for three titles reaching staggering heights. Black Ops Cold War, in particular, topped the charts with a budget exceeding $700 million. This surpasses even the famously expensive Star Citizen, highlighting the dramatic escalation of costs in AAA game development.
The sheer scale of these budgets underscores the immense resources required for modern blockbuster video games. While indie games often thrive on comparatively modest budgets, the AAA landscape operates on a vastly different scale. Development cycles spanning years, coupled with extensive manpower and technological investments, contribute to the ever-increasing financial demands. While games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Last of Us Part 2 were previously considered exceptionally expensive, they 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 Black Ops 3 ($450 million), Modern Warfare (2019) (over $640 million), and Black Ops Cold War (over $700 million). Black Ops Cold War, despite its single-company financing, eclipsed Star Citizen's $644 million development cost, accumulated over 11 years of crowdfunding. The success of these titles is undeniable, with Black Ops Cold War selling over 30 million copies and Modern Warfare exceeding 41 million. Even Black Ops 3, with the lowest budget of the three, significantly surpasses the $220 million development cost of The Last of Us Part 2.
Black Ops Cold War's $700 Million+ Budget: A New High Water Mark
The budget for Black Ops Cold War represents an unprecedented milestone in video game development. This figure is particularly striking given its single-source funding, contrasting sharply with Star Citizen's long-term crowdfunding model.
Considering the upward trend in game development budgets, it's fascinating to speculate on the potential costs of future installments, such as Black Ops 6. The contrast between today's AAA budgets and those of earlier eras is stark. The $40 million budget of Final Fantasy VII in 1997, once considered enormous, now seems minuscule in comparison. Activision's recent disclosures serve as a powerful illustration of the rapidly escalating costs within the video game industry.
