In the process surrounding the deal surrounding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, we get an insight into the costs behind the most expensive projects. The report from the Competition & Markets Authority depicts huge sums of money behind creating the biggest titles on the market. Call of Duty has passed 200 million dollars and is around 300 per title. Together with marketing costs, the games today can exceed a billion dollars. It is a little more than ten billion in Swedish kronor.
Although Call of Duty is specifically mentioned, there are tons of other big budget games that cost similar amounts of money. The next Grand Theft Auto is being addressed. In the report, we can read that the games that kick off their production now for a launch in 2024-2026 may reach these figures in expenditure. Just five years ago, the games cost just over half the sum they do today to pick up. The demands on development pace and getting their products out on time have forced developers to have more than one development studio on each project. According to the report, Call of Duty today needs one and a half game development studios per title.
