$50 million is "what it takes," says Realtime boss

Realtime Worlds head David Jones has said that the $50 million the developer recently secured to continue work on APB and various other projects is a simple reality of triple A games creation.

"It's easy for some people to underestimate what it really takes these days to produce a great game," he said, talking to GI. "So we're very resolute, we know what it takes, we know how much it costs, and we don't kid ourselves that it's going to take anything less.

"Just sticking to that principle, not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, both internally within the company and with investors, saying yes, it is a lot of money, but truly that's what it takes.

"Unfortunately these days it does take that amount. Crackdown wasn't that long ago and our development budget was something like $50 million, and even that to me now, I don't know if I could do anything for much less than that.

"You've got the Call of Dutys, GTA IV – some challenging stuff to try and beat out there, or at least set a bar equal to that."

Lots more through the link. APB's down for a 2009 release.