Top 10 most expensive games to develop, with some costing over half a billion USD

Looking at the scale and quality of games in recent times, one thing is certain: although not every game released guarantees quality, the costs of developing and promoting them are steadily rising.

The days of games like Halo 3, which cost $30 million to develop and an additional $40 million for promotion, are long gone. In fact, some of the names on this list have surpassed even Hollywood blockbuster films in terms of production and marketing costs. For example, Avengers: Endgame cost Disney between $350 to $400 million to produce and promote, while Red Dead Redemption 2 cost around half a billion dollars.

The reason is simple: when creating a blockbuster title, publishers strive to ensure that their product reaches as many people as possible through various advertising channels, thereby maximizing sales. In contrast, indie games often rely on word of mouth; if someone knows about them, they might try them out, enjoy them, and share with friends on forums, without the strong advertising investments that major companies like Sony, Microsoft, or Activision can afford.

The figures in this list account for both development and promotional costs, adjusted for the current inflation rate of the US dollar.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2: $379 to $550 million

If there is a title for the most expensive game to create, RDR2 certainly has no rivals. However, it is not the most successful game or the golden goose for Rockstar Games like Grand Theft Auto V. With development costs ranging from $170 to $240 million, every character, weapon, horse, and scene in the early 20th-century American Wild West virtual world was designed in such detail that even the most powerful PCs struggled to run the game at 4K resolution at a solid 60 FPS. This enormous figure is also a result of the game being delayed several times before its release.

Even more staggering is the amount that Take-Two Interactive spent on promoting this game: an estimated $200 to $300 million. From TV ads and dynamic billboards in Times Square, New York, and Piccadilly Circus in the UK, to banners on websites and print advertisements, T2 made sure everyone knew about this classic cowboy-themed masterpiece.

2. Star Citizen: Over $320 million

This one is a bit controversial, as theoretically, Star Citizen is not a game that has been officially released; it has been in Early Access for years. However, the amount of money that dedicated fans have contributed to bring this project to life is undeniable. Development began in 2010, and by 2012, Cloud Imperium Games launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, raising over $2 million with the promise of creating a virtual world for exploring the vast galaxy.

Initially, the game was promised for release in 2014, but it has faced multiple delays. Nevertheless, they continued to receive donations even after the Kickstarter campaign ended. As of June 2020, the total amount fans have contributed to Cloud Imperium for the development of Star Citizen, along with revenue from virtual goods sold in the beta version and other investment sources, has surpassed $320 million, with the official game still not in sight.

3. Cyberpunk 2077: $316 million

Touching on this game is painful, as there are always countless critics bashing CD Projekt RED’s latest work. Upon release, the game was riddled with bugs and poorly optimized for hardware. The PS4 version was so bad that Sony took the unprecedented step of removing the game from the PlayStation Store, and it has yet to be re-released. Even after many delays, most people agree that Cyberpunk 2077 should have been delayed further to meet the artistic vision that the Polish developers promised fans.

After many such delays, the total cost for Cyberpunk 2077 reached $174 million, a consequence of mistakes in the development and oversight processes. Coupled with a massive promotional budget of $142 million, despite the backlash, Cyberpunk 2077 still became one of the best-selling games of 2020.

4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: $298 million

Going back to the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, the most expensive game to develop was the second installment of the Modern Warfare series, where players continued to follow Soap, Captain Price, and their team to prevent a global conflict. Compared to Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 underwent comprehensive upgrades in depth. The single-player campaign was significantly more explosive than the previous installment, and the multiplayer mode had substantial enhancements in both gameplay and weapon systems.

At that time, Infinity Ward only budgeted $50 million for game development, but Activision went all out, adding another $200 million for marketing. Never before had a game been advertised on television as extensively as Modern Warfare 2. Adjusting for inflation, this figure now equates to nearly $300 million spent on the game.

5. Grand Theft Auto V: $291 million

Surprisingly, the game that has generated the most revenue for Rockstar Games is not the one they spent the most to develop. To this day, GTA V continues to consistently rank among the best-selling games each month in many countries worldwide, not to mention the sales of “Shark Cards” used for purchasing virtual currency in GTA Online with real money. Soon, GTA V will be released on PS5 and Xbox Series X, meaning that three generations of consoles will be dedicated to playing GTA V.

During its development, GTA V cost $137 million, with a development team of over 1,000 people working for 4.5 years to bring the game to life. The deep storyline, impressive mission system, and perfect voice acting make it a standout title. Take-Two Interactive didn’t even need to spend a dime on marketing the game. However, before the release of GTA V, they invested $128 million to ensure everyone was aware of their masterpiece. In total, accounting for inflation, we arrive at a figure of $291 million.

6. Star Wars: The Old Republic: Over $227 million

Creating an MMO is not cheap. And making an MMO set in one of the most famous entertainment franchises in the world is even more challenging. It must deliver quality that matches its iconic name. When developing an online game that serves as a sequel to the two RPGs, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the pressure on Star Wars: The Old Republic was immense.

The result was that BioWare spent a significant amount of time creating this MMO, but it became a resounding success, reaching 1 million players in just three days, despite the game requiring a monthly fee. However, player numbers gradually declined, regardless of expansions aimed at retaining them. It wasn’t until EA decided to turn Star Wars: The Old Republic into a free-to-play game that player numbers stabilized again.

7. Halo 2: $217 million

Halo ushered in the era of online shooting games with the Xbox, and the second installment was even more ambitious. Bungie knew how to create a standard shooting game, laying the groundwork for many future titles, featuring a lobby system, party matchmaking, and even a DLC model with new maps to keep the game fresh. Meanwhile, the gameplay system was also significantly expanded, with an intricate storyline, weapons, vehicles, and characters.

Even with Microsoft providing ample funding, Bungie couldn’t implement all of their new ideas into Halo 2. In 2004, Halo 2 cost Microsoft $40 million to develop, plus $80 million for marketing, which, when adjusted for 2021 inflation, exceeds $200 million.

8. Marvel’s Avengers: Over $170 million

Following the tremendous success of Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4, Marvel was eager to bring other superheroes to the gaming screen, assigning the development of Avengers to Crystal Dynamics, the creators of the Tomb Raider series. However, the model of Avengers did not meet player expectations. The game felt rather bland in terms of content, despite a well-crafted storyline that included twists and depth.

Reportedly, due to Avengers, Square Enix incurred a direct loss of $48 million, selling only 60% of what they had anticipated. Combining these figures, analysts estimate that Marvel’s Avengers cost around $170 million to develop and promote.

9. Destiny: $151 million

Another remarkable title from the talents at Bungie, this time a grand game featuring role-playing shooting mechanics, with loot-driven power, Destiny. After departing from the Halo series, Bungie created a game described as “a platform to retain players for 10 years,” continuously updating and expanding. Initially, due to a deal between Activision and Bungie, the first installment was funded with $140 million to develop, aiming to create a series that could compete with Call of Duty. However, by the second installment, for various reasons, Activision and Bungie parted ways, granting Bungie full control over the Destiny brand.

Activision once claimed that the total cost of Destiny’s first installment was $500 million, but Bungie denied this figure, stating that the official documentation indicated $140 million, which, adjusted for 2021 inflation, amounts to over $150 million.

10. Dead Space 2: $136 million

The first Dead Space surprised everyone by redefining the horror game genre, not only affecting players psychologically through visuals but also through sound. For the second installment, EA went all in, investing heavily to comprehensively upgrade the game, from action sequences, new monsters, more terrifying visuals, to meticulously designed game scenes. The game even included a multiplayer mode that felt somewhat unnecessary to keep players engaged.

At that time, Visceral Games was allocated $60 million for the game’s development, with a similar amount spent by EA on advertising Dead Space 2.

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