Activision Reveals Cost and Sales Figures for Call of Duty Titles
The development costs and sales figures of several games in Activision’s Call of Duty franchise have been disclosed, shedding light on the financial scale behind some of the most iconic titles in gaming.
The data, revealed by Patrick Kelly, Creative Director of the franchise, during a court case, provides insight into the enormous investments required to create these games and the returns they generate.
Key Figures
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (2015): Development costs reached $430 million, and the game sold 43 million copies.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019): This reboot of the series, which introduced the popular Warzone mode, cost $640 million to produce and sold 41 million copies.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020): The most expensive title in the franchise to date, it cost $700 million to develop but sold a relatively lower 30 million copies.
Profitability and Additional Revenue Streams
Despite the staggering production costs, the Call of Duty franchise remains highly profitable for Activision. Revenue is driven not just by game sales, priced at $70 for new releases, but also through in-game microtransactions, including skins, CoD Points, and the enhanced BlackCell Season Pass.
The significant sales figures underline the franchise’s enduring appeal, while post-launch monetization strategies continue to bolster Activision’s revenue.
Context and Comparisons
With Black Ops Cold War currently standing as the most expensive game ever made based on publicly available data, it’s likely that newer titles, such as Black Ops 6, could surpass this milestone. Additionally, industry speculation suggests that Rockstar’s GTA 6, still in development, may rival or exceed these production costs.
The disclosed figures offer a rare glimpse into the financial scale of producing AAA video games and highlight the continued dominance of the Call of Duty franchise in the gaming industry.
