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Fact check: Sony spent $400 million developing Concord.
1. Summary of the results
The claim that Sony spent $400 million on Concord's development is highly contested. While some sources, including Colin Moriarty citing an unnamed developer, support the $400 million figure [1] [1], other industry experts strongly dispute this claim. A German source breaks down the alleged costs as two $200 million investments [2], but Kotaku reports the initial development deal was around $200 million, not covering full development or IP rights [3]. Industry expert Christopher Dring from GamesIndustry explicitly states that "no game has that dev budget" [4].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual elements are missing from the original statement:
- The game's commercial performance has been notably poor, with only approximately 25,000 sales [5]
- Some sources suggest a more modest development cost of around $100 million [5]
- The game's apparent quality and limited marketing don't align with such a high budget claim [6]
- There's a significant pre and post-Sony acquisition context, with speculation about $200 million spent before Sony's acquisition of Firewalk Studios [6]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The $400 million figure appears to originate from a single source - Colin Moriarty citing an unnamed developer [1] [1] [1]. This creates potential for:
- Media sensationalism: The claim has been labeled as making the press a "laughing stock" by industry experts [4]
- Financial narrative: Some sources frame this as potentially the "biggest video game disaster in history by financial loss" [1], which could benefit:
- Competitors looking to highlight Sony's failures
- Media outlets seeking dramatic headlines
- Industry analysts pushing certain market narratives
The actual development costs remain uncertain, with evidence suggesting the true figure might be significantly lower than $400 million, though still substantial at potentially $200 million or more [3].