Video game budgets have increased astronomically over the years. What started as small side projects for the entertainment industry has burgeoned into a multibillion-dollar venture, with a lot of games costing tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars to create. For major games, these costs include major talent, large teams, and high marketing costs.
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WithCyberpunk 2077’s impending release after nearly a decade of development and a rumored budget of over $100 million, andHalo Infinite’s budget ballooning to nine figures as well, game budgets are continuing to rise, and there have been some ridiculously high game budgets over the course of gaming’s history.
10Grand Theft Auto V
TheGrand Theft Autoseries is notorious for its over-the-top presentation and high production values, and the costs to make each game in the series are no joke. Released in 2013,Grand Theft Auto Vcost over $260 million to develop, and with ahighly detailed worldand continuous support provided forGTA Onlineover time, and new editions coming to next-generation consoles, production costs are only increasing. However, Rockstar Games and Take-Two aren’t sweating the costs, asGTA Vhas brought in more than $6 billion and sold more than 135 million copies.
9Star Citizen
Star Citizenis among the most famous and successful crowdfunding campaigns, using the money gathered to become one of the most expensive games of all time. Since the campaign’s launch, it has raised more than $300 million from its fans and additional external sources, and the developers continue to release new content and features to fulfill their ongoing crowdfunding goals.
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Even though the game is not officially completed and will likely remain in development for the foreseeable future, it continues to both cost and make lots of money, and with the continued crowdfunding campaign, it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon.
8Destiny
As Bungie’s first major game after the conclusion of the originalHalotrilogy and its subsequent independence from exclusivity to Xbox,Destinysaw the studio fully invest increating a new worldand supporting it well after launch. The original contract Bungie signed with Activision budgeted $500 million for the series, and, while the original didn’t ultimately cost that much, it still ran up its expenses to nearly $140 million. However, the original grossed nearly $1 billion, and withDestiny 2and Bungie’s separation from Activision, the franchise is continuing to pay for itself.
7Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
TheCall of Dutyfranchise is virtually synonymous with the high-budget shooter that has become par for the course for triple-A gaming.Modern Warfare 2, the direct sequel to one of the most commercially and critically successful shooters of all time, had the license to be as big and bold as it wanted. It accomplished that withbig set pieces, high production values, and a massive marketing budget that ballooned to nearly $200 million. However, within its first day on the market, it recouped its entire $250 million budget and more, and it has continued to sell millions of copies well after launch and retained a significant multiplayer community.
6Star Wars: The Old Republic
Though BioWare is widely known for itsMass Effectseries, its first foray into the MMO landscape garnered the highest budget. Continuing theKnights of the Old Republicseries,Star Wars: The Old Republicwas set in an expansive world that has been estimated to have cost nearly $200 million to create and inevitably more to maintain. Luckily for BioWare and EA, a big launch and a modest sustained player base has allowedSWToRto gross over $1 billion in its lifetime of nearly a decade so far.
While theGrand Theft Autoseries might have the highest budget of all its games, Rockstar doesn’t slouch on anything it releases, and its adventures in the Wild West, including bothRed Dead RedemptionandRed Dead Redemption 2, prove that Rockstar spares no expense in game development. Their widely documentedattention to detailand expansive world cost nearly $100 million the first time around, and the sequel undoubtedly upped the ante significantly. As withGrand Theft Auto V, though, both made their investments back quickly, includingRed Dead Redemption 2’s revenue of more than $700 million on its first day.
4The Last of Us Part II
After the successof theUnchartedseries and the originalThe Last of Us, developer Naughty Dog had little in the way of budget restrictions when it came toThe Last of Us Part II, its biggest game and one of the PlayStation 4’s most-anticipated exclusives. Announced in 2016,Part IIwas in development for nearly five years and ran up an estimated cost of more than $100 million. As a flagship exclusive on the PlayStation 4, though, it did not lag in sales and became one of the console’s best-selling exclusives, likely recouping its overall investment in just weeks after launch.
3Tomb Raider
As thecomeback for one of gaming’s most recognizable heroes, the newTomb Raiderseries received Square Enix’s full backing for each of its three entries. The 2013 reboot had an overall budget of almost $100 million, which it made back within a year.
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The budget forShadow of the Tomb Raider, the 2018 conclusion to the trilogy, ballooned to an estimated $135 million. Sales for the franchise decreased with each title, with estimated units sold of 11 million for the 2013 entry, 7 million for 2015’sRise of the Tomb Raider, and over 4 million forShadow.
2The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Notorious for its independence, CD Projekt Red is not afraid to put large amounts of time and money into its projects, and 2015’sThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntexemplifies this notion. The Polish company revealed that the third entry in its fantasy saga cost approximately $81 million to develop over the course of more than three years. For CDPR, though, this was a worthwhile investment, as the novel-based title has sold more than 50 million units, allowing the company to invest even more intoCyberpunk 2077.
1Final Fantasy VII
One of the most important games on the first PlayStation and one of the quintessential JRPGs of all time,Final Fantasy VIIdid not come out of nowhere when it first launched. Its initial budget consisted of approximately $45 million, which equates to more than $70 million when accounting for inflation. When accounting for a marketing budget that nearly doubled its development budget,Final Fantasy VIIwas incredibly expensive. Its multi-part remake is also rumored to have a budget in the hundreds of millions across its parts, seen in its incrediblelevel of detail. As one of the most talked-about games of all-time, it has made back its investment many times over, with more than 12 million units of the original sold and more than 5 million units sold of the 2020 remake.
