Triple-A Games Can Have A Budget Exceeding One Billion Dollars, Publishers Report
thegamer.comThis week's single biggest piece of news was the prevention of Microsoft's $68.7 billion merger with Activision Blizzard as the UK's Competition and Markets Authority blocked the deal, citing concerns over cloud gaming. Publishing its final decision in a 418-page report, the CMA's investigation contains a number of notable details, with the latest revealing insights into the ever growing costs of game development.
In its huge report, the CMA revealed that some major publishers claim their budgets for triple-A games can exceed $1 billion (via IGN). The costs associated with triple-A game development has been increasing exponentially and the details really hit home just how much is invested in these blockbuster titles. Those triple-A projects that are in development for launch in 2024 or 2025 can require development budgets of $200 million or more.
Related: The Callisto Protocol Was Never Going To Sell 5 Million Copies
It is not outlandish. Call of Duty, for example, has exceeded $300 million in development costs while the next Grand Theft Auto will have a similar outlay. The recent The Callisto Protocol reportedly cost $162 million to make, while CD Projekt Red spent a staggering $316 million on Cyberpunk 2077, which recently prompted one of its quest directors to respond to comments that triple-A RPG development is hitting a wall. It is important to note that these costs, as high as they are, are merely the development costs and don't factor in the outlay spent on marketing the games.
According to CMA's report, one big studio reported that a major franchise cost $660 million to develop while marketing cost almost $550 million, meaning total budgets for triple-A games can nearly reach one billion dollars in total and
Read more on thegamer.com
