Lords of the Fallen was CI Games' most expensive project at $66m
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Polish developer CI Games has revealed that its latest hit, Lords of the Fallen, was its most expensive project to date with total costs of PLN 281 million ($66.2 million).
The figure was shared during an investor call, as reported by Polish site Bankier and spotted by Game World Observer. Total development costs were came in at PLN 178 million ($41.9 million), although this does not include licensing fees paid to Epic Games for the use of its Unreal Engine.
CI Games also shared that PLN 81.5 million ($19.2 million) was spent on marketing, with an additional PLN 21.5 million ($5.1 million) dedicated to producing the physical edition.
The investment seems to have paid off, with the rebooted Lords of the Fallen selling more than one million copies within ten days. By comparison, Game World Observer noted the 2014 original sold 900,000 in its first seven months.
CI Games promised a further sales update in November. Management suggested the game is likely to be boosted by both Black Friday and the pre-Christmas shopping periods.
Studio president Marek Tymiński also acknowledged technical issues, especially with the PC version, and assured that the game's developers are working on improvements and updates.
It's interesting to see CI Games increasing its budgets. Back in 2017, the studio aimed to establish itself in the AAA space with Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, but Tymiński later told GamesIndustry.biz the game struggled to meet the company's expectations.
CI Games downsized the scope of its games with 2019's Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts and its 2021 sequel. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Tymiński discussed the rising budgets for AAA game
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