The cost of developing AAA games continues to climb, with recent revelations about Call of Duty's budget reaching staggering heights. This raises concerns about the sustainability of such massive investments and the impact on innovation.
Free-to-play game development is becoming increasingly popular, making game creation more accessible. However, development costs for AAA games are skyrocketing. Documents related to a lawsuit against Activision, alleging that Call of Duty promotes guns and violence, reveal that three Call of Duty games released between 2015 and 2020 cost close to $2 billion to make.
Black Ops III (2015) cost $450 million, Modern Warfare (2019) cost $640 million, and Black Ops Cold War (2020) cost a staggering $700 million. This $700 million figure is the highest game development budget ever reported. The escalating costs are driven by high player expectations for expansive, detailed worlds and exceptional visuals. As a result, making a top-tier game today is a significant risk for studios as they need to sell substantial copies to recoup their investments. This has led to a trend of sticking to established IPs, rather than taking risks with new ventures. Last year saw numerous game cancellations and layoffs due to development costs and associated risks. Despite the high budgets, the industry is facing disruption from the post-pandemic slump. There are reports that GTA 6, set to release in 2025, will surpass Call of Duty's budgets. However, there is a growing recognition that these enormous budgets are not sustainable and stifle innovation. 2025 may witness a shift towards profitable AA game development and a resurgence of indie game successes
GAME DEVELOPMENT AAA GAMES BUDGETS CALL OF DUTY INNOVATION INDUSTRY TRENDS
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