I wonder whether the numbers include benefits or not, thats important. Also there are more artists in a production than the are programmers for example, they tend to dominate the workplaces for modern HD games. However on the surface it does indicate you may be right about the cost of development, my figures came directly from a couple of developers individual assessment and by dividing EAs layoffs with their expected savings and finding it came to $100k per person.

From below 100k to million and millions.

The real question is "Why on earth would someone be so offended by my post?".

I know the answer, maybe you will learn it some day.

I think usually when companies are planning layoffs they're citing the short- to mid-term savings, which mostly make up the direct costs of salaries, while costs of logistics, office space and material associated with each employee could take longer to save, and maybe not even at all because it's ineffective to touch the basic structure since it often is just a few years until it's time to make investments again, including hiring new employees. 

Gears only had a $10 mill budget strangely enough @_@

http://kotaku.com/234504/gears-of-war-a-mere-10-million-to-make

good devs

Good point! I guess in this case we were both right, but I think then you're more right as its best to apply the total fixed + variable costs for each employee.

They were using a pre made engine.   Making an engine from scratch is very expensive as you can see from the various Final Fantasy games.

Not only was it a pre-made engine, it was also their engine. Which means they knew the ins and outs of it intimately. Which would be similar to valves finesse with the source engine. Better to work with something you know, it really helps keep the costs down.

Depends on the game and if they're making an engine from scratch.

So what does a huge game like GTA4 cost? Are there extra costs since it's made on two platforms?