Most Expensive Games Ever Made: Making a game may be rather expensive, even if you may not consider it very often. More resources are dedicated to the creation of a game the larger the project. Developers frequently wind up paying millions of dollars as a result. You can start to appreciate the strain that goes into creating a product when you consider how much money is spent on developing these games.
You’ll undoubtedly remember the names of the majority of the AAA games on this list, which are among the most costly video games ever produced. These games were expensive to produce due to marketing and development expenses, albeit not all of them were profitable. Discover which movies earned their money back and which ones didn’t by reading on.
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1. Grand Theft Auto V – $265 Million: Game’s hardly surprising that GTA V is on this list given that it was one of the biggest releases of this decade. Rockstar’s lucrative franchise undoubtedly earns a lot of money for the developer. However, anyone who has played GTA V would concur that it isn’t a shoddy attempt.
A game as large and ambitious as GTA V requires a lot of resources to become what it is. The game’s creation and promotion cost millions, so fans anticipated and received a high-quality product.
2. $250 Million for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Modern Warfare 2 has remained one of the most well-liked games in the Call of Duty series and was a commercial and critical triumph for Infinity Ward and Activision. However, it wasn’t inexpensive, so it’s not surprising that it ranks so highly on our list.
The fact that the majority of the $250 million spent on Modern Warfare 2’s development expenditures went toward marketing the game instead of game development is quite unusual.
Development cost between $40 and $50 million, while marketing was astronomically expensive at $200 million. Even the expense of creating the game itself wasn’t that high.
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3. $200 million for Star Wars: The Old Republic: The Old Republic by Bioware felt like a big project as soon as it was originally unveiled in 2008. Any player would desire to become a Jedi after playing the game because it offered so many elements, opportunities for exploration, and choices. However, such promises usually have a cost, and in this case that cost was in the millions.
Since there are no estimated marketing expenses for this game, the majority of the $200 million went on development. That’s not a very difficult pill to swallow for a project that was so big and so generally successful.
4. $145 Million for Final Fantasy VII: The original Final Fantasy VII had a greater total budget than its remake, which had a budget of roughly $80-100 million, while being far more technologically and aesthetically impressive. Given that the production budget was only $45 million, the $100 million spent on American marketing is mostly to blame.
Final Fantasy VII, the series’ best-selling game to date and the first to be distributed in Europe, is credited with introducing a lot of gamers to the genre. Its combination of 3D visuals, cinematics, and game mechanics continues to have an impact on the gaming industry today.
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5. $140 Million for Destiny: Speaking of Halo, when this next Bungie game launched back in 2014, many people compared it to its spiritual predecessor. When it first came out, Destiny garnered mostly favorable reviews and many people were attracted by its multiplayer in a shared world.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stated that the publisher will contribute $500 million to the game around the time of its release. Even if a far lower amount of money was actually invested in Destiny, the whole sum was still enormous.
6. $135 Million for Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Shadow of the Tomb Raider outperformed the 2013 reboot in at least one area—cost—even though it wasn’t as highly received as its predecessor. While the production of Tomb Raider only cost about $100 million, the 2018 sequel’s final budget was significantly more due to its advertising expenses.
Another game that had a sluggish start in terms of sales was Shadow of the Tomb Raider. With almost 4 million units transferred, it is even more obvious how tough it is for developers to recoup their expenditures. At least Lara Croft, the beloved weapon-wielding character from the Tomb Raider series, returned in this new installment.
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7. $120 Million for Halo 2: Think about the fact that despite being released seven years earlier than Dead Space 2, Halo 2 had a comparable overall development cost. Even that reality is astonishing. Halo 2 actually ends up costing more to create than the other game due to inflation.
Halo 2 has a considerable legacy, particularly in terms of console online matching. It’s difficult to disagree with those who claim that it’s still the finest game in the series. Even now, there are those that are committed to playing and speedrunning the game.
8. $120 Million for Dead Space 2: Dead Space 2 is tied for sixth on our list. Dead Space 2 was created by the now-defunct Visceral Games in 2011 as a sequel to the critically acclaimed video game released in 2008. The game’s development cost was around $60 million, and it gave a novel perspective on the survival horror subgenre.
Despite selling millions of copies, the game’s sales fell short of projections. meet EA’s standards, at least. Zach Wilson, the game’s developer, expressed regret about the game’s marketing expenses and didn’t appear very happy with how the money was managed. Dead Space 2 is still a good time and a well-made game, despite everything.
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9. $105 Million for Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3, yet another Rockstar game, debuted four years after GTA IV and ended up costing the studio around the same to produce. Max Payne 3 was much anticipated when it was released, but it didn’t do as well as you would have expected.
Despite the series’ devoted fan base, sales weren’t what one may have anticipated for a Rockstar game. Given the absurd game production expenses, that had to have been a difficult pill to take.
10. $100 Million for Grand Theft Auto IV: You’ll probably notice right away that Rockstar is fairly well-represented on this list. The production of the most of their contemporary games cost them a nice amount because the team doesn’t play around.
When GTA IV was released, it was thought to have cost somewhere about $100 million or more, making it one of the most costly video games ever produced. Despite being more than ten years old and still being on the list, it still has a very high ranking.
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11. $100 Million for APB: All Points Bulletin APB: All Points Bulletin by Realtime Worlds is one of several games with a development and marketing budget of around $100 million. APB could be the only one of the recipients of such huge checks who really fails. It’s always depressing to observe how a game may burn out quickly despite all the effort put into it.
The game, according to many players and reviewers, felt incomplete or undeveloped. What was ultimately a letdown to many received even more criticism for the one-week review embargo that was imposed before to its publication.
12. $100 Million for Tomb Raider: The tenth installment in the Tomb Raider series, released in 2013, serves as a revamp of Lara Croft’s history and persona. We watch Lara develop into the knowledgeable and seasoned adventurer we know as she embarks on her first adventure or raid of any type.
Tomb Raider’s budget has been estimated by video game specialists to be approximately $100 million. Fortunately, it sold more than 1 million copies in the first 48 hours of release and more than 11 million copies as of 2017. This allowed it to more than recoup this expenditure.
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Conclusion
When compared to what it is today, the expense of creating video games was very low in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Though production expenses have climbed along with the capabilities of home consoles and high-end gaming systems, most contemporary titles now cost publishers and developers tens of millions of dollars to make.
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.