MARCH 17, 2011 • In an earlier era, selling 375,000 units in 24 hours would have been major news for a new PC action franchise. Post Call of Duty, THQ found itself hard-pressed to garner laurels for its new Homefront game. The tally did not include Europe, where the game’s release was slightly delayed.
Impact: Homefront’s development costs are estimated in the $25 to $30 million range with worldwide marketing another $10 to $20 million. All in, the estimates are somewhat typical for AAA console product though they pale in comparison to the total budgets for Activision’s recent Call of Duty games. Homefront reviews have been mixed, citing the short singleplayer campaign that fails to innovate over other shooters (especially Call of Duty) though multiplayer has been generally praised by both critics and gamers. This isn’t entirely surprising coming from THQ’s Kaos Studios – the original developer of the hugely popular multiplayer Desert Combat modification of Battlefield 1942 – as the cost of high-end single player shooters in the Call of Duty mold keeps escalating. No doubt this contributed to the Homefront’s short campaign – illustrating the immense cost and effort to compete in the high-end shooter market against the likes of Call of Duty and Halo.
