Let's talk money. How much did it cost to develop Modern Warfare 2? And how much money did Activision spent on marketing? An article in LA Times gives some insight in these questions about the launch of Modern Warfare 2. According to insiders the game's development was $40 to $50 million U.S. dollars. Including the budget for the launch of the game the costs came to a whopping $200 million. This is on the same level as a decent Hollywood blockbuster and a shitload of money to spend on a videogame.

So for marketing alone Activision spent an amount of $150 to $160 milion. The game's profits? $550 million in the first 5 days after the release. This even beats Hollywood movies like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which (only) made $394 million, and beat ex-titleholder GTA IV, which made a total of $500 million in the same period.

Morale to this story, Modern Warfare 2 sucks, but it's making a shitload of money. Probably enough to proceed to Modern Warfare 3 .. cashcow anyone?