Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's Development Costs Surpassed $700 Million in 2020

The development expenses for three Call of Duty titles, created between 2015 and 2020, ranged from $450m to $700m per game for Activision. According to court documents accessed by Game File, Patrick Kelly, the current head of creative for the Call of Duty franchise, disclosed these figures, which are believed to be the highest development costs ever reported by a major video game company, including those obtained through leaks or analyst estimates. Black Ops 3, released in 2015, cost over $450m to develop and sold approximately 43m copies. In contrast, 2019's Modern Warfare sold around 41m copies but incurred significantly higher development costs of $640m. The development cost of Black Ops Cold War in 2020 was even higher, exceeding $700m, with around 30m copies sold. For context, Game File notes that the development costs of The Last of Us Part 2 by Naughty Dog and Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt RED were around $220m and $330m, respectively. These figures do not include marketing expenses but do account for subsequent costs associated with DLC and post-launch content. Kelly revealed this information during a December hearing related to the 2022 school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, where lawyers representing those affected by the shooting described Activision as a major marketer of assault weapons in the US. An Activision spokesperson responded by expressing deepest sympathies to the affected families and communities, stating that millions of people worldwide enjoy video games without engaging in violent acts.