Ballooning development costs is a "systemic issue" in the video game industry, Andy Gavin says

January 06, 2025 | 02:49am

Naughty Dog Founder Reveals Budgets Of Original Games And Why They Sold To Sony

Ballooning development costs is a "systemic issue" in the video game industry, Andy Gavin says

Naughty Dog sold to Sony not just to help secure its financial future, but also to help Naughty Dog make the best games possible "without being crushed by the weight of skyrocketing costs and the paralyzing fear that one slip would ruin it all."

"Looking back, it was the right call. AAA games have only gotten more expensive since then. Today's big-budget games can easily cost $300, $400, or even $500 million to develop," Gavin said. "Would we have been able to keep up? Maybe. But selling--to the right party--gave Naughty Dog the stability it needed to thrive; and to continue making the kinds of games we'd always dreamed of!"

Gavin left Naughty Dog in 2004, prior to the developer's Uncharted and The Last of Us franchises coming onto the scene. Naughty Dog's other founder, Jason Rubin, is also no longer with the company.

Gavin isn't the only video game industry veteran to speak about rising costs. Former Sony executive Shawn Layden has said the AAA video game space is unsustainable due in part to rising development costs.

Naughty Dog is now run by Neil Druckmann, who is president of the company. He is also the writer of Naughty Dog's next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Beyond that, Druckmann remains involved with HBO's The Last of Us TV series and potentially The Last of Us: Part III.

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