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Record-Breaking Call of Duty Budgets: A Look at the Rising Costs of AAA Game Development
Recent disclosures reveal staggering development budgets for several Call of Duty titles, reaching unprecedented heights within the video game industry. Budgets for three specific games ranged from $450 million to a jaw-dropping $700 million, with Black Ops Cold War leading the pack.
This underscores the immense scale and expense of modern AAA game production. While indie games often thrive on smaller, community-funded budgets, the financial investment required for blockbuster titles continues to escalate dramatically. While games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Last of Us Part 2 were previously considered exceptionally expensive, the Call of Duty figures dwarf even these prior benchmarks.
Activision's filings, as reported by Game File, detailed the development costs of Black Ops 3, Modern Warfare (2019), and Black Ops Cold War. The latter's budget exceeded $700 million, a figure achieved despite being financed solely by Activision, unlike the crowdfunded Star Citizen, which holds a comparatively smaller $644 million budget amassed over 11 years. Modern Warfare (2019) followed with a budget exceeding $640 million, while Black Ops 3 still managed a substantial $450 million investment. These figures dramatically eclipse the $220 million spent on The Last of Us Part 2.
Black Ops Cold War: A $700 Million Milestone
The over $700 million budget for Black Ops Cold War sets a new industry record, surpassing even Star Citizen's extensive funding. This highlights the considerable resources dedicated to creating these high-profile titles. The success of Black Ops Cold War, with over 30 million copies sold, attests to the potential returns on such significant investments.
The increasing budgets are a clear reflection of the evolving video game landscape. Comparing the $40 million budget of the groundbreaking 1997 Final Fantasy VII to today’s AAA game costs illustrates the exponential growth in development expenses. Activision’s recent disclosures serve as compelling evidence of this escalating trend, leaving one to speculate on the even larger budgets likely to be seen in future installments of the Call of Duty franchise.
