AAA Games Reportedly Cost Up To $1 Billion Or More

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Sajjad Hussain

As Tech4Gamers’ Founder and Editor-in-Chief, I bring over 13 years of PC Hardware Reviewing and 8+ years of IT Project Management experience. Certified in Google IT Support, my focus is on providing honest product reviews and analysis and fostering a strong gaming community with 130k+ members in PPG.

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Several years ago, gaming studios were able to produce AAA games with budgets as small as $50 million. However, with recent games, development costs have risen significantly, with one example being God of War Ragnarok, costing 5x more than God of War 3.

While it is no surprise that development costs have gone up, the CMA’s latest finding claims that modern AAA games can cost over $1 billion in total.

The report describes that AAA games released on modern platforms cost $200 million or more to produce.

However, one publisher told the CMA that a big AAA franchise costs $660 million to produce. Surprisingly, this figure does not include the marketing budget, which takes up over $500 million.

This adds up to a whopping $1 billion. However, the identity of this franchise and publisher has not been revealed. It is possible that the franchise in question is highly ambitious with an enormous scope.

With AAA games offering more content, targeting bigger worlds, and pushing the boundaries of technology, it is not difficult to see development budgets quickly rising to the CMA’s reported figure.

Franchises like Call of Duty have already exceeded a budget of $300 million before. Considering marketing costs, this number could further increase to over $1 billion for an annual release.

Previously, developers like CD Projekt Red have also claimed that AAA gaming will soon hit a wall. The CMA’s report further highlights this possibility, with modern development budgets rising beyond expectations.

Sajjad Hussain

[Editor-in-Chief]

Sajjad Hussain is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tech4Gamers.com. Apart from the Tech and Gaming scene, Sajjad is a Seasonal banker who has delivered multi-million dollar projects as an IT Project Manager and works as a freelancer to provide professional services to corporate giants and emerging startups in the IT space.

Majored in Computer Science
13+ years of Experience as a PC Hardware Reviewer.
8+ years of Experience as an IT Project Manager in the Corporate Sector.
Certified in Google IT Support Specialization.
Admin of PPG, the largest local Community of gamers with 130k+ members.

Sajjad is a passionate and knowledgeable individual with many skills and experience in the tech industry and the gaming community. He is committed to providing honest, in-depth product reviews and analysis and building and maintaining a strong gaming community.