5 hours ago, GildedOctopusStudios said:

It's an interesting hypothetical. You'd also need a software architect and depending on how good they were that could influence how many devs you would need. Not sure if you are familiar with the term but they basically are like super experienced devs that specialize in programming and project structures. They arose from object oriented programming so they are kind of a newer thing. The benefit of them is that part of their job is to make code bases more reusable. 

I have never heard of a software architect. Sounds like OOP Office Orientated Programmer. Keep the teams from reinventing the wheel. Let's add to this hypothetical, that same architect can keep all divisions synced. He/She can also keep the tools lined up with the asset pipeline from a Film Studio to a Game Studio, being able to exchange both assets(cloud) and tools for various other tools, for example Houdini to Unreal Engine with modifications. 

A smaller team with lower goals is better as a starter. This creates the other definition of "senior". Everyone is new to whatever is now in front of them and will have to work out those bugs and eachothers. After that, a larger team can be more effective. I have watched businesses built both big and small from the start. The smaller starters produce better even though the total skill level was less than their competitors. Throwing money around won't ever get anything to work. Look at America, it's clear the debt-money will, eventually, turn into bullets and cages.

If your intention is to throw money around then you have no real need to ask this question. Hiring and firing en masse and at whim is a recognized practice of some employers.

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frob:
...they don't have a large library of resources to rely on ...nor a history of working together in productive ways.

 

That is a fun part for the starting lineup.

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Villam Otte:
And when you have to aim at qualified people (often with university degrees and experience )

I work with university students and dropouts on a regular basis.

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RickBaker:
 OOP...that same architect...can keep all divisions synced.

That's the PM's job.

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RickBaker:

OOP...that same architect can keep the tools l ined up with the  asset pipeline ...

This is a software manager (a sub-set of asset / IT management).

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RickBaker:
Gta series runs around 600-700 employees at rockstar north.

How many are janitors?

If you are bored enough it doesn't take long to develope an outline of what you need.

For many org charts, "principal programmer" is the top level for people who spend their days in the code. But some go further.

In the companies I've heard the term used, "software architect" was a very senior role, a programmer with 30+ years experience who focuses not on individual pieces of code, but instead has tremendous institutional knowledge about details of many programming systems.  It's a job title above principal programmer and reserved for someone who has been stuck inside the company since the beginning.

It's a rare term inside games, but relatively common inside large established businesses.