Game budgets are growing at insane rate. Graphic from State of the Industry report shows it perfectly

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A noteworthy aspect from the Epyllion Group’s latest report on the gaming market is their in-depth look at escalating production costs. While it’s been understood that budgets are growing, a closer scrutiny of certain game brands paints a concerning image.

  1. The development of Final Fantasy XIII (2009) cost just over 50 million dollars. Fourteen years later, the production of Final Fantasy XVI consumed approximately $220 million.
  2. In 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had a budget of less than 50 million dollars. In the case of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, released six years later, it was already 300 million, and the development of last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 consumed $550 million.
  3. Halo: Infinite had a budget of 600 million dollars, while Halo 4 had a budget of about 120 million, and Halo 5 approximately 180 million.
  4. The development of Horizon: Forbidden West consumed four times more money than Horizon: Zero Dawn. In turn, the budget for Cyberpunk 2077 was about three times higher than that of The Witcher 3.
  5. The development costs of The Last of Us Part II were four times higher than the first installment.

Often, these costs generated returns for quite some time. The report also contained an intriguing infographic (located below), detailing which games generated the most sales revenue in the U.S. annually. Each brand was assigned a unique color, enabling the graphic to visually demonstrate the enduring popularity of these series.

The challenge lies in the fact that top spots on bestseller lists aren’t sufficient anymore due to a rapid increase in production costs outpacing revenues. This has many publishing companies paying close attention to whether Take-Two will set the price of GTA 6 at $80 or even $100, potentially establishing a new pricing benchmark for AAA games.

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2025-01-24 17:01