Development costs for 2020’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War exceeded $700m

Developing three Call of Duty titles between 2015 and 2020 cost Activision between $450m and $700m per game.

In court filings seen by Game File, Activision’s current head of creative on the Call of Duty franchise, Patrick Kelly, disclosed the sums, thought to be “the highest development costs ever reported by a major video game company,” including information we’ve learned via leaks or analyst estimates.

2015’s Black Ops 3 cost over $450m and sold around 43m copies, whilst 2019’s Modern Warfare sold fewer units – 41m – but cost significantly more at $640m.

Black Ops Cold War in 2020 was even more expensive to produce again, costing over $700m and selling 30m copies.

For comparison, Game File relays Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 cost around $220m, whilst CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077 cost around $330m. It is not believed that these figures are inclusive of marketing costs but do include subsequent costs attributed to DLC and post-launch content.

Kelly revealed this information at a December hearing regarding the school shooting at Roob Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022, in which lawyers acting on behalf of those impacted by the shooting described Activision as “the most prolific and effective marketer of assault weapons in the United States.”

A spokesperson for Activision at the time said: “The Uvalde shooting was horrendous and heartbreaking in every way, and we express our deepest sympathies to the families and communities who remain impacted by this senseless act of violence. Millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrific acts.”