The following is a list of the most expensive video games ever developed, with a minimum total cost of US$50 million and sorted by the total cost adjusted for inflation. Most game budgets are not disclosed, so this list is not indicative of industry trends.

Lists

Official figures

Name Year Developer Publisher Original platform(s) Development cost
(million US$)		 Marketing cost
(million US$)		 Total cost
(million US$)		 Total cost with 2022 inflation
(million US$)
Star Citizen TBA[lower-alpha 1] Cloud Imperium Games Cloud Imperium Games Windows 415+[3] 86+[3] 501+[3] 541+
Cyberpunk 2077 2020 CD Projekt Red CD Projekt PS4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One 174[4] 142[4] 441.9[lower-alpha 2] 482.9
2023[lower-alpha 3] PS5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S 103.6[lower-alpha 4] 21.6[5]
Marvel's Spider-Man 3[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6] TBA Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment TBA 385[6] —
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 2009 Infinity Ward Activision PS3, Windows, Xbox 360 40–50[7] 150–160[7] 200[7] 327–341
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 2023 Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment PS5 315[6] —
Marvel's Wolverine[lower-alpha 6] TBA Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment PS5 305[6] —
Final Fantasy VII 1997 Square Square, Sony Computer Entertainment PS1 40–45[8][9] 40–100[10][9] 80–145 146–264
The Last of Us Part II 2020 Naughty Dog Sony Interactive Entertainment PS4 220[11] 220[11] 249
Halo 2 2004 Bungie Microsoft Studios Xbox 40[12] 80[12] 120[12] 248
Horizon Forbidden West 2022 Guerrilla Games Sony Interactive Entertainment PS4, PS5 212[11] 212[11] 212
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales 2020 Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment PS4, PS5 156[13] 176
Destiny 2014 Bungie Activision PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One 140[14] 173
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 2018 Eidos Montréal Square Enix PS4, Windows, Xbox One 75–100[15] 35[15] 110–135 128–157
Dead Space 2 2011 Visceral Games Electronic Arts PS3, Windows, Xbox 360 60[16] 60[16] 120 156
Grand Theft Auto IV 2008 Rockstar North Rockstar Games PS3, Xbox 360 100+[17] 136+
Battlefield 4 2013 EA DICE Electronic Arts PS3, Windows, Xbox 360 100[18] 100 126
Shenmue 1999 Sega AM2 Sega Dreamcast 47[19][20] 47–70[19] 83–123
Genshin Impact 2020 miHoYo miHoYo Android, iOS, PS4, Windows 100+[lower-alpha 7] 113+[lower-alpha 7]
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2015 CD Projekt Red CD Projekt PS4, Windows, Xbox One 81[22] 100
Rift 2011 Trion Worlds Trion Worlds Windows 50+ 10–20 60–70+[23] 78–91+
Watch Dogs 2014 Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft PS3, PS4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One 68+[24] 68+ 84+
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier 2012 Ubisoft Paris, Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft Bucharest Ubisoft PS3, Xbox 360 65[25] 83
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart 2021 Insomniac Games Sony Interactive Entertainment PS5 81[26] 87
Gran Turismo 5 2010 Polyphony Digital Sony Computer Entertainment PS3 60[27] 60 81
Gears of War 3 2011 Epic Games Microsoft Studios Xbox 360 48–60[28] 48–60 62–78
Gears of War: Judgment 2013 Epic Games, People Can Fly Microsoft Studios Xbox 360 60[29] 75
Heavy Rain 2010 Quantic Dream Sony Computer Entertainment PS3 21.8[30][31] 30.4[30][31] 52.2[30][31] 70
Final Fantasy IX 2000 Square Square PS1 40[32] 40+ 68+
Lords of the Fallen 2023 Hexworks CI Games PS5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S 42.2[33] 24.4[lower-alpha 8] 66.6[33] —
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. Atari 2600 21–22[lower-alpha 9] 64–67
Darksiders II 2012 Vigil Games THQ PS3, Windows, Xbox 360 50[36] 64
Half-Life 2 2004 Valve Valve Windows 40[37] 40 62
Kingdom Under Fire II 2019 Blueside, Phantagram Gameforge Windows 50+[38] 62

Cancelled games

Name Year cancelled Developer Publisher Platform Development cost
(million US$)		 Cost with 2022 inflation
(million US$)
Halo MMO (Titan Project) 2007–2008 Ensemble Studios Microsoft Game Studios Windows 90[39] 122
Fable Legends 2016 Lionhead Studios Microsoft Studios Windows, Xbox One 75[40] 91+
This Is Vegas 2009–2010 Surreal Software Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment PS3, Windows, Xbox 360 40–50[41] 54–67
Volt (working title) 2021 Hangar 13 2K Un­known 53[42] 53

Unofficial figures

Analyst estimations

Name Year Developer Publisher Original platform(s) Analyst Firm / institution Development cost
(million US$)		 Marketing cost
(million US$)		 Total cost
(million US$)		 Total cost with 2022 inflation
(million US$)		 Ref
Grand Theft Auto V 2013 Rockstar North Rockstar Games PS3, Xbox 360 Arvind Bhatia Sterne Agee 137.5 69–109.3 206.5–246.8 259–310 [43]
Red Dead Redemption 2 2018 Rockstar Games PS4, Xbox One Michael Pachter Wedbush Securities 170 170 198 [44]
Halo 5: Guardians 2015 343 Industries Microsoft Studios Xbox One 160 160 198 [45]
Marvel's Avengers 2020 Crystal Dynamics Square Enix PS4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One David Gibson Astris Advisory 170+ 192+ [46]
Final Fantasy VII Remake 2020 Square Enix Business Division 1 Square Enix PS4 Yuhsuke Koyama Shibaura Institute of Technology 144 144 163 [47]
Atul Goyal Jefferies & Company <140 <140 <158
Max Payne 3 2012 Rockstar Studios Rockstar Games PS3, Xbox 360 Arvind Bhatia Sterne Agee 105 105 134 [48]
Tomb Raider 2013 Crystal Dynamics Square Enix PS3, Windows, Xbox 360 Billy Pidgeon — 100 126 [49]
Resident Evil 2 2019 Capcom PS4, Windows, Xbox One Atul Goyal Jefferies & Company <100 <100 <114 [47]
Halo 3 2007 Bungie Microsoft Game Studios Xbox 360 Michael Pachter Wedbush Securities 30+ 15–20 60+ 85+ [50]

Press estimations

The following budgets have been estimated by press outlets without naming any specific analyst or firm.

Name Year Developer Publisher Original platform(s) Press outlet Development cost
(million US$)		 Marketing cost
(million US$)		 Total cost
(million US$)		 Total cost with 2022 inflation
(million US$)		 Ref
Red Dead Redemption 2 2018 Rockstar Games PS4, Xbox One VentureBeat 200–300 200–300 233–350 [44]
Grand Theft Auto V 2013 Rockstar North Rockstar Games PS3, Xbox 360 The Scotsman 265 333 [51]
Star Wars: The Old Republic 2011 BioWare Electronic Arts, LucasArts Windows Los Angeles Times 200+ 260+ [52]
Too Human 2008 Silicon Knights Microsoft Game Studios Xbox 360 USgamer 60–100 82–136 [53]
Red Dead Redemption 2010 Rockstar San Diego Rockstar Games PS3, Xbox 360 The New York Times 80–100 107–134 [54]
APB: All Points Bulletin 2010 Realtime Worlds Electronic Arts, Realtime Worlds Windows The Guardian 100 134 [55]
Disney Infinity 2013 Avalanche Software, Altron (3DS) Disney Interactive Studios 3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 Los Angeles Times 100+ 126+ [56]
Deadpool 2013 High Moon Studios Activision PS3, Windows, Xbox 360 GameSpot 100 126 [57]
Mass Effect: Andromeda 2017 BioWare Electronic Arts PS4, Windows, Xbox One Edmonton Journal 100 119 [58]
Defiance 2013 Trion Worlds, Human Head Studios Trion Worlds PS3, Windows, Xbox 360 Forbes 80 80 101 [59]
Mortal Kombat II 1994 Probe Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment Game Gear, Sega Genesis, SNES San Francisco Chronicle 50 99 [60]
Sonic & Knuckles 1994 Sega Technical Institute Sega Sega Genesis Los Angeles Times 45 45 89 [61]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2010 Treyarch Activision Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Windows, Xbox 360, OS X 50+ 67 [62]
DC Universe Online 2011 Dimensional Ink Games Daybreak Game Company, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment PS3, Windows 50 50 65 [63]
L.A. Noire 2011 Team Bondi Rockstar Games PS3, Xbox 360 BBC News 50 50 65 [64]
Super Mario Bros. 3 1988 Nintendo EAD Nintendo NES The Seattle Times 0.8 25.8+ 64+ [65]
The Indianapolis Star 25+ [66]
Final Fantasy X 2001 Square Product Development Division 1 Square PS2 Yomiuri Shimbun 32.3 32.3+ 57+ [67]
Halo 3 2007 Bungie Microsoft Game Studios Xbox 360 The Hollywood Reporter 40 40 56 [68]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Playable elements of the game were first released in 2013,[1] but the game remains in early access, with no final release date announced.[2] Costs representative of development up to 2021.[3]
  2. ↑ Approximately US$316 million for original game[4] and US$125.9 million for Update 2.0 upgrade and Phantom Liberty downloadable content[5]
  3. ↑ Update 2.0 upgrade and Phantom Liberty downloadable content
  4. ↑ US$40.9 million for Update 2.0 and US$62.7 million for Phantom Liberty DLC[5]
  5. ↑ Unannounced game[6]
  6. 1 2 Projected figure
  7. 1 2 In addition to its initial budget of US$100 million, Genshin Impact is said to have an annual budget of US$200 million for its ongoing development.[21]
  8. ↑ US$19.3 million for marketing and US$5.1 million for production of physical copies[33]
  9. ↑ Licensing fee[34][35]

References

  1. ↑ Rehard, Jef (August 22, 2013). "Gamescom 2013: Roberts demos Star Citizen's hangar module". Engadget. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  2. ↑ Lanier, Liz (May 6, 2019). "'Star Citizen': Still No Release Date in Sight, Work Environment is 'Chaotic' (Report)". Variety. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Cloud Imperium Financials for 2021". cloudimperiumgames.com. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "2020 results" (PDF). cdprojekt.com. April 2021. p. 2. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Dinsdale, Ryan (October 6, 2023). "CD Projekt Spent Roughly $125 Million Turning Cyberpunk 2077 Around Post-Launch". IGN. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Parijat, Shubhankar (December 19, 2023). "Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Had a Total Budget of $315 Million". GamingBolt.
  7. 1 2 3 Fritz, Ben (November 18, 2009). "Video game borrows page from Hollywood playbook". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Essential 50: Final Fantasy VII". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Final Fantasy 7: An oral history". Polygon. January 9, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  10. ↑ Stanton, Rich (June 2, 2013). "Final Fantasy 7 retrospective". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Wood, Austin (June 28, 2023). "PlayStation accidentally reveals $200m+ development costs for Horizon Forbidden West and The Last of Us Part 2". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 "What's it's really like to work in Game industry". YouTube. July 7, 2015. Event occurs at 42:38. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  13. ↑ Parijat, Shubhankar (December 19, 2023). "Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales Has Sold Over 10.2 Million Units". GamingBolt.
  14. ↑ Pham, Alex (May 21, 2012). "Bungie-Activision contract". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  15. 1 2 Dring, Christopher (May 11, 2018). "Eidos Montreal: "We have to try new models for single-player games"". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  16. 1 2 "Dead Space 2 Dev Says Game Cost $60M To Make And Sold Millions, But Failed Commercially". Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  17. ↑ Androvitch, Mark (April 30, 2008). "GTA IV: Most expensive game ever developed?". Games Industry International.
  18. ↑ "EA CCO: Battlefield 4 budget was $100 million". bfcentral. March 14, 2014. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  19. 1 2 Sheffield, Brandon (March 2, 2011). "GDC 2011: Yu Suzuki: 'Sega Will Probably Let Me Make Shenmue 3'". Gamasutra.com. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  20. ↑ Robinson, Martin (June 22, 2015). "Yu Suzuki wants $10 million to make a truly open world Shenmue 3". Eurogamer.
  21. ↑ Anderson, Ethan (August 10, 2022). "Genshin Impact cost of development is (almost) the most expensive ever". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  22. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (September 9, 2015). "This is How Much The Witcher 3 Cost to Make". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  23. ↑ "How Much Does It Cost To Make A Big Video Game?". Kotaku. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  24. ↑ Mosca, Marco (June 18, 2013). "Watch Dogs, le très gros budget d'Ubisoft". Challenges. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Ubisoft discusses next-generation game budgets". Eurogamer.net. May 16, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  26. ↑ Parijat, Shubhankar (December 19, 2023). "Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Sold 2.2 Million Units, Incurred an $8 Million Loss". GamingBolt.
  27. ↑ Remo, Chris (November 5, 2009). "Yamauchi: Gran Turismo 5's Development Cost Hit $60 Million". Gamasutra.com. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  28. ↑ Brian Crecente. "The four lives of Epic Games". Polygon. Retrieved March 27, 2018. By the end of the cycle, Gears of War 3 cost about four or five times more than the original to make.
  29. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (January 9, 2017). "Gears of War: Judgment Cost $60 Million and Made $100 Million, Dev Says". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  30. 1 2 3 Purchese, Robert (April 19, 2013). "Heavy Rain cost €16.7 million to make and made Sony "more than €100 million"". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  31. 1 2 3 "Heavy Rain cost $52 million but made $130 million, you do the math". Engadget.
  32. ↑ Alder, Davon (July 29, 2000). "Square Haven News / NTV Tokyo Interviews Hironobu Sakaguchi". squarehaven.com. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  33. 1 2 3 Blazewicz, Jacob (October 24, 2023). "Lords of the Fallen Devs Reveal Sales and Announce Major Changes [Update]". Gamepressure. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  34. ↑ "E.T. Starring in Sales of Toys". The New York Times. December 13, 1982. pp. D1, D8. Archived from the original on May 14, 2020.
  35. ↑ Phipps, Keith (February 2, 2005). "Howard Scott Warshaw". A.V. Club. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Darksiders 2's $50 Million Budget Was "Ridiculous," Nordic Games CEO Says".
  37. ↑ "Half-Life 2: $40 million in, still Steaming forward". Eurogamer. March 22, 2004. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  38. ↑ Eisenbeis, Richard (October 17, 2014). "The Long Development of Korea's Next Big MMORPG". Kotaku. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  39. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (April 13, 2010). "Why The Halo MMO Was Cancelled". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  40. ↑ Frank, Allegra (May 12, 2016). "Report: Fable Legends was a $75M project 'nobody' wanted to work on". Polygon. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  41. ↑ Zelfden, N. Van (February 16, 2009). "What's Killing the Video-Game Business?". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  42. ↑ Schreier, Jason (November 3, 2021). "Take-Two's 2K Cancels $53 Million Game From Hangar 13". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  43. ↑ "GTA V dev costs over $137 million, says analyst". gamesindustry.biz. February 1, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  44. 1 2 Takahashi, Dean (October 31, 2018). "Red Dead Redemption 2 could hit 20 million in sales — and turn a profit — by December". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
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  46. ↑ "Square Enix reports $48M loss following release of underperforming Marvel's Avengers". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  47. 1 2 Khan, Imad (August 1, 2020). "Like Old Hollywood Movies, Video Games Get a Polish for New Audiences". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  48. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (September 8, 2011). "Max Payne 3 could cost Rockstar $105 million to develop, says analyst". VG247. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  49. ↑ Handrahan, Matthew (March 27, 2013). "Single-player IP will cause problems for Square Enix". Gamesindustry.biz. Gamer Network. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  50. ↑ Pham, Alex; Friedman, Josh (September 24, 2007). "'Halo 3' guns for $150 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  51. ↑ Travers, Alan (February 1, 2013). "GTA 5' Costs $265 Million To Develop And Market, Making It The Most Expensive Video Game Ever Produced: Report". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
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  55. ↑ Stuart, Keith (August 27, 2010). "Realtime Worlds: an inside story". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  56. ↑ Fritz, Ben (August 25, 2013). "Disney Tries Anew to Raise Its Score on Digital Games". The Wall Street Journal.
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  58. ↑ Kent, Gordon (March 1, 2017). "Edmonton's BioWare uses upcoming release of Mass Effect: Andromeda to push for industry tax credits". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  59. ↑ Bercovici, Jeff (November 26, 2012). "With 'Defiance,' Comcast's Syfy Bets $100M On Convergence Of TV And Videogames". Forbes. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
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