As part of the ongoing legal battle between FTC and Microsoft, some new evidence has been uploaded. One of these exhibits includes a document from Sony that revealed that The Last of Us Part 2 budget was $220 million while Horizon Forbidden West cost $212 million.
While Sony has sent the redacted version of the document, the redaction is done very poorly. It isn’t hard to read through the grayish redacted boxes which have revealed the headcount and budget for The Last of Us 2 and Horizon Forbidden West.
Find the full email below:
Developing and producing AAA games often costs over $100 million, requires hundreds or thousands of developers, and takes years. For instance, development on Horizon Forbidden West, a 2022 SIE first-party release, lasted a total of (5) years, starting (2017) in and ending in 2022. The game cost ($212) million to develop, and peak headcount was over (300) full time employees. Development on The Last of Us Part Il, a 2020 SIE first-party release, took longer than (70) months, starting in (2014?) and ending in 2020. Development costs were around ($220) million, and headcount peaked around (200) full time employees. In addition to development costs, global marketing costs for AAA games are large, even for established franchises.
Highly successful AAA games also create deep and ongoing engagement with players. Many
players will invest hundreds of hours per year in playing their favorite AAA games.
The document also reveals that Horizon Forbidden West had 100 more full-time developers than The Last of Us Part 2, with a total of 300 developers.
Yesterday, PlayStation CEO, Jim Ryan revealed that he doesn’t like Starfield being an Xbox exclusive, but believes its not anti-competitive. The Microsoft and FTC day four showdown is ongoing right now. We will keep updating our readers as more information is out.
Thanks, Tom Warren!
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