Development of The Last of Us: Part II and Horizon Forbidden West cost more than $200 million for each of the games

The case Microsoft v. Federal Trade Commission brings more and more interesting information. For example, poorly redacted documents revealed how much it cost Sony to develop AAA blockbusters The Last of Us: Part II and Horizon Forbidden West. This is written by IGN.

So the development of The Last of Us: Part II cost $220 million with the involvement of 200 full-time employees and a large number of outsourced studios. Horizon Forbidden West cost $212 million and had 300 full-time developers working on it.

These figures put The Last of Us: Part II and Horizon Forbidden West in the top list of the most expensive games in history, with The Last of Us Part II now in 4th place and Horizon Forbidden West in 6th place.

Most likely, the amounts mentioned by Sony do not take into account marketing, which can usually attract as much, and sometimes even more, than the development of the game itself.

And in any case, even taking into account marketing funds, both games, which sold very well, paid off and added weight to Sony’s platform. The Last of Us: Part II sold more than 10 million copies as of summer 2022. Horizon Forbidden West sold 8.4 million copies as of June 2023.