Summary
Video game budgets are one of the most closely guarded secrets in the games industry. For some reason, a lot of big studios really don’t want you to know how much it takes to make certain games, and the only way we actually find out is via various leaksor poorly redacted court documents. Looking at youSony.
That’s how we found outThe Last of Us Part 2andHorizon Forbidden Westcost a little over $200 million to make, a figure which seemed preposterous at the time. Well,Activisionhas now come along and blown those figures out of the water, revealing the budgets for three differentCall of Dutygames in a California lawsuit back in 2024.
Call Of Duty Budgets Have Been Revealed In California Lawsuit
First reported by Game File, Activision executive and Call of Duty head of creative Patrick Kelly detailed the budgets for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3,Modern Warfare (2019), andBlack Ops Cold Warin a document filed as part of a lawsuit against the company following the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas back in 2022. These three games were listed as the ones that the shooter played the most.
Firstly, Kelly says that Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 was in development for three years, and cost Activision and developer Treyarch over $450 million over the game’s lifecycle. We then see a massive leap in budget for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which apparently set Activision and developer Infinity Ward back a whopping $640 million over its lifecycle.
Lastly, the budget for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was by far the biggest, costing Activision, Treyarch, and Raven Software a whopping $700 million over its lifecycle. Those are some absolutely gigantic budgets, almost definitely the biggest that have ever been made public, and on that trajectory, we can surmise that the recently releasedCall of Duty: Black Ops 6must have had a budget even greater than those.
It’s worth noting the careful use of the word “lifecycle”, meaning these budgets most likely don’t refer to the money spent up to release. Call of Duty games are obviously supported well after launch, so it’s likely that these budgets include money spent on making post-launch content,possibly even the money spent to secure collaborations. We don’t know for sure, but this is another peek behind the curtain at how expensive game development is.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
WHERE TO PLAY
Taking the plot to the 1980s, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War pits players against Perseus, a mysterious international threat. Bringing back the popular Zombies mode, the new Fireteam mode, and continuing Call of Duty: Warzone, it offers plenty for players to enjoy.
