Modern Warfare 2 Costs Millions To Make, Outsells Harry Potter Movies & GTA IV

Modern Warfare 2, according to Activision, had estimated sales of $550 million in the first five days, surpassing the former biggest game launch of all time, GTA IV, which sold $500 million. Modern Warfare 2’s huge sales numbers outpaced that of any five-day take of a blockbuster movie in recent memory, and was officially the largest entertainment launch in history.

In addition, Modern Warfare 2 cost between $40 and $50 million to produce, and, according to the LA Times, “the launch budget was $200 million, on par with a summer popcorn movie — and extremely high for a video game.”

Those figures add up to Modern Warfare 2 making a profit of roughly $300 million already with market analysts expecting it to sell between 15 and 20 million total copies for total sales figures numbering near $1 billion.

There can be no doubt about it, Modern Warfare 2 isn’t just a big game, it is a huge game. And gaming is evolving. Big budget games cost as much as a Hollywood film and often make as much money or more. And the advertising campaigns for these games are just as big. Activision stated that they aimed for a Hollywood-style media blitz with Modern Warfare 2, producing Hollywood-quality trailers, leaking information via Twitter, and producing massive billboard and print advertising campaigns.

A massive budget for a hotly-anticipated sequel, and massive profits to go along with it. Sounds just like a Hollywood blockbuster.

Source: LA Times – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 video game gets Hollywood-scale launch