Development budgets for AAA games are now reportedly "reaching unprecedented ranges" By Heidi Nicholas, 02 May 2023 FollowtopicsCall of Duty: Modern Warfare IICall of DutyActivisionLocal MultiplayerOnline MultiplayerFirst Person ShooterHeidi Nicholas The hefty report from UK regulator the Competition and Markets Authority which blocked Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard also goes into detail on how game development budgets are soaring.One of the main takeaways from the CMA's report was that it blocked Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal, prompting Xbox boss Phil Spencer to reassure staff, but another interesting section reported that game development budgets are "reaching unprecedented ranges" with budgets for AAA releases having soared in the last five years.The CMA's document refers to a report from industry analysis firm IDG (thanks, IGN) which had been submitted by a third party. It notes that "development budgets are reaching unprecedented ranges" and that while five years ago AAA releases might have had development budgets of around $50-150 million, nowadays games that are greenlit for release in 2024 or 2025 are seeing development budgets of $200 million and above. The CMA says IDG's report notes how some AAA franchises go above even this, with Call of Duty's development budgets going over $300 million, while games like the next Grand Theft Auto title are "expected to hit $250 million or higher." The report adds that one publisher discussed how just one AAA game could see a development budget ranging between $90 million and $180 million, while the marketing budget could hit anywhere between $50 million and $150 million. Budgets shoot still higher when taking a franchise into account: the CMA says that "this publisher also submitted that for one of its major franchise’s development costs reached $660 million and marketing costs peaked at almost $550 million."The CMA's document also refers to an Activision quote in the report which relates to CoD: "We have to make so much content for Call of Duty, that we can’t even lean on one lead studio anymore. Now we need almost 1.5 lead studios for each annual CoD. That kind of bandwidth pressure is forcing us to use outsourcers more and more. I don’t see that changing anytime soon."What do you make of the idea of such unprecedented development budgets, particularly for AAA titles? Let us know in the comments!More Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II stories: Free Play Days features two Xbox games, including Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed Microsoft inks fourth ten-year Call of Duty agreement Microsoft signs yet another ten-year Call of Duty licensing deal Call of Duty on Game Pass would not lead to price rise, Microsoft claims Sony is scared Xbox might sabotage Call of Duty on PlayStation Industry News Written by Heidi NicholasHeidi tends to lean towards indie games, RPGs, and open-world games on Xbox, and when not playing Disney Dreamlight Valley, happily installs every new wholesome game that appears on Xbox Game Pass, before diving back into favorites like The Witcher 3. She's looking forward to Age of Mythology Retold, Everwild, Fable, and Avowed on the Xbox horizon. Heidi graduated with an MA in English Literature before joining the TrueAchievements team.