Astronomical Budgets: Development Costs of Past Call of Duty Titles Revealed
Yesterday, 11:13
Journalist Stephen Totilo has unveiled the staggering budgets behind several Call of Duty games, including Black Ops 3, Modern Warfare, and Black Ops Cold War. The information was sourced from old court documents.
The reports show that each title required $450–700 million for development and post-launch support. To put this in perspective, one of Sony’s flagship blockbusters, The Last of Us: Part 2, was estimated to cost around $220 million.
- Black Ops 3 (2015): “Treyarch developed the game over three years with a creative team of hundreds of people, and invested over $450 million in development costs over the game’s lifecycle.” 43 million copies sold;
- Modern Warfare (2019): “Infinity Ward developed the game over several years and has spent over $640 million in development costs throughout the game’s lifecycle.” 41 million copies sold;
- Black Ops Cold War (2020): “Treyarch and Raven Software took years to create the game with a team of hundreds of creatives. They ultimately spent over $700 million in development costs over the game’s lifecycle.” 30 million copies sold.
Another Call of Duty installment is set for release in fall 2025. According to insider Tom Henderson, it will be a continuation of Black Ops 2.
