When discussing why Naughty Dog chose to align itself with Sony, the co-founder Andrew Gavin gave a practical explanation highlighting the studio’s financial realities at that time.
In a conversation on LinkedIn, noted by Tech4Gamers, Gavin reflected on the drastic increase in development costs over the years. Back in the ’80s, game development budgets were relatively modest, around $50,000. However, by the time titles like Jak and Daxter were being developed, those budgets had surged to a staggering $15 million. In such a scenario, securing financial stability seemed like a sensible goal.
While Naughty Dog was capable of managing projects that cost a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars, diving into multimillion-dollar productions was simply not feasible for the studio to sustain in the 2000s.
The actual amount Sony paid to acquire Naughty Dog remains undisclosed, though estimates suggest a range between $50 million and $200 million in 2001. Since then, the studio has solidified its role as one of Sony’s key developers. While they continue to support their flagship franchise, The Last of Us, they are also venturing into fresh territory with Intergalactic, which is their first new intellectual property since 2013.
