Sony PlayStation: Horizon Forbidden West and the Last of Us Part 2 Costed About INR 1,800 Crores

If you’ve ever wondered how much it might cost to create AAA games by the big developers of industry, the secret is now out for Sony PlayStation’s Horizon Forbidden West and The Last of Us Part 2. As a part of the ongoing court battle against the FTC’s restraining order, Sony had presented documents that provided details of the cost it bore to develop these games. These details have now made their way to the public.

Xbox FTC trial Day 4 reveals sensitive information

Microsoft is now battling it out in the US Federal Court against the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) following the latter’s restraining order issued on 13th June. The five-day trial that began on June 22nd, will end with the fate of the deal sealed as the deadline of its closing ends on July 18th, failing which Microsoft will have to pay $3 billion in breakup fees to Activision Blizzard.

As a part of Sony’s attempts to provide evidence of how the Activision acquisition deal will hurt their business, they shared details of how much money went into the making of some of their most popular games. The documents that are now out in the public can be seen with the numerical details blacked out. However, eagled-eyed followers of this courtroom battle have realised that the numbers are vaguely visible and understandable when placed under the scanner.

From what could be corroborated from the document, and the data that’s now out in the public, Horizon Forbidden West reportedly cost around $212 million (approximately INR 1738.6 crores). It was seemingly developed over 5 years with 300 employees. The Last of Us Part II on the other hand, cost around $220 million (approximately INR 1804 crores), with a development period of 6 years (2014-20), involving around 200 full time employees.

The document further added that in addition to the development costs, “global marketing costs for AAA games are large, even for established franchises.” However, these spendings were not shared in the document now available online.