Full Breakdown
Gears of War: E-Day’s $500 Million Development Cost Meets Modest Sales
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In this breakdown
01
Core Event
Gears of War: E-Day launched exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and PC, with a simultaneous day-one release on Xbox Game Pass. Reports indicate the title cost roughly $500 million to develop, a figure that places it among the most expensive video games ever produced. Sales have been far lower than typical triple-A expectations, with estimates of just over 400,000 copies sold across console and PC platforms.
02
Data & Statistics
- Development budget: $500 million, first reported by Kotaku and reiterated by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier.
- Units sold: The Verge cited “just over 400,000 copies” across console and PC; Alinea Analytics’ Rhys Elliott estimated 311,000 copies sold on Steam and Xbox.
- Revenue: On October 13, Elliott calculated $42.1 million in revenue from those sales.
- Marketing costs: Not included in the $500 million figure, according to the Kotaku report.
03
Official Statements & Responses
Microsoft has not provided a comment on the budget or sales figures. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, speaking about the broader Xbox portfolio, highlighted record-setting performance for titles such as *Minecraft* and *World of Warcraft Forever* and praised the critical reception of *Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4*. No direct remarks were made regarding E-Day’s financial outcome.
04
Verbatim Quotes
- “We just saw Gears of War: E-Day cost $500 million to Xbox. And that is a real number. That is real,” — Jason Schreier, images bloomberg reporter