to me the main reason for using Blender besides actual blender being free is the CUDA render is also free and its pretty darn good. If you were to use Maya you have to buy a render that supports cuda which also adds another $700 USD or so.
Really expensive if you ask me when it comes to indie work. ESPECIALLY for small teams in 3rd world countries where that conversion amounts to a fortune.
In the first world $4000 isn’t really much money given people are paid there based on cost of living which amounts to a lot. In the 3rd world where cost of living is $500 a month thats a lot of money so you do not initially have that kind of money upfront even with a small indie studio.