Gears of War: E-Day budget reportedly tops $500 Million

Gears of War: E-Day reportedly cost over $500 million to make, and that is said to be before marketing.

The number comes from a source familiar with Xbox’s business, and another journalist says he heard the same. An earlier rumour claimed $400 million. A third reporter first said it was lower, but now backs the $500 million figure. He adds that his sources disagree on how much of it went to E-Day and how much covered The Coalition’s other work, like Unreal Engine support for other Xbox studios.

At $69.99, Gears of War would need over 7 million full-price sales just to match that budget in revenue. Alinea Analytics estimates only 230K sales across PC and Xbox in the first few days. Another 722K Game Pass subscribers reportedly paid $30 for early access.

Layoff rumours

More Xbox layoffs are said to be coming. Story director Juan Vaca was reportedly let go soon after the game went gold. Staff are also allegedly set to receive a Metacritic-linked bonus at the end of October, but only if they are still employed when it is paid.

None of this has been officially confirmed.