In a world of big-budget game development Grand Theft Auto VI is rumored to cost $2 billion to produce which has us wondering, what are the most expensive games of all time?
Although the industry is notoriously secretive. Thank goodness for leaks. We factored in development costs only (excluding marketing) and came up with the list of ten most expensive games ever developed:
10. Battlefield 4 ($100m)
Developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts in 2013 based off of the Frostbite 3 engine, Battlefield 4 was published across five platforms and sold over seven million copies.
Battlefield 4 opens our list of most expensive games ever at a cost of $100 million to develop, a far cry from the approximate $8,000 cost to produce Electronic Art’s first ever game Hard Hat Mack. Despite the early bugs and glitches it still became a commercial success.
9. Max Payne 3 ($105m)
Rockstar Games is renowned for GTA and Red Dead but Max Payne 3 won many accolades. It came at a development cost of $105 million after being sold by Remedy Entertainment for $48m in 2002.
Released in 2013, four years after originally anticipated, Max Payne 3 underwent a massive marketing push to promote the game. It also had a strong cast led by James McCaffrey who voiced Max Payne.
8. Destiny ($140m)
Developed by Bungie and published by Activision, Destiny cost $140 million to make but it managed to rake it all back in on opening day and made $325 million in its first five days.
Bungie’s first game following its success with Halo, the initial investment on Destiny for its 2014 release allowed for Destiny 2’s release three years later as well as the many expansion packs that have followed.
7. Red Dead Redemption 2 ($170m)
Rockstar Games developed another beauty with Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) launching in 2018. It took about eight years, around 1,600 staff working on it, and has about 300,000 animations.
On its opening weekend RDR2 made a whopping $725 million, has more than 500 species of animals, and is considered to be one of the most significant games released on PS4 and Xbox One.
6. Cyberpunk 2077 ($174m)
Cyberpunk 2077 developed by CD Projekt Red, is one of the greatest flops in gaming history and an example of how not to launch a video game. Keanu Reeves plays a starring role which no doubt wouldn’t have been cheap, with total development costing $174 million.
Despite an 8-year development period, Cyberpunk 2077 was launched in late 2020 riddled with bugs and glitches that were so bad, CD Projekt Red began offering refunds for disgruntled gamers and costing the games founders over $1 billion, although the game has since become profitable.
5. Star Wars: The Old Republic ($200m)
First launched in 2011 after almost six years of development Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) was developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. Fifth on our list of most expensive games ever, it was the most expensive game in history when it launched.
With at least 200,000 lines recorded by voiceover, and stars including Tom Spackman, Grey Griffin it’s no wonder it cost a fortune to produce. A $200 million cost doesn’t even include marketing or licensing royalties.
4. Horizon Forbidden West ($212m)
After five years and 300 staff working on the development of Horizon Forbidden West, the action role-playing game was launched in 2022 and has made massive profits for both Sony and Guerrilla Games.
So extensive and intensive is the open world game, the concept of flying was almost removed from Horizon Forbidden West but was still managed to be kept while maintaining the high processing power required.
3. The Last of Us 2 ($220m)
We know how secretive developers are in revealing just how much it costs to make a game. We now know from a Sony court blunder that it cost $220 million to make The Last of Us 2.
At its peak it took around 200 people to develop the game with reported 12-hour workdays for developers. Despite almost devastating leaks and spoilers prior to release, the game has been a massive financial success.
2. Grand Theft Auto V ($265m)
Grand Theft Auto is one of the most expensive games to have been produced costing about $265 million when it launched in 2013 and has since sold over 185 million copies, although it’ll certainly be surpassed by GTA VI
Licensing the 441 in-game GTA V radio tracks came at an exorbitant cost with estimates of about $5,000-$30,000 each tracking meaning Radio Los Santos may have cost close to $30 million in licensing fees alone.
1. Star Citizen ($700m)
Pre-production of Star Citizen began in 2010, production in 2011 and a crowd funding in 2012. Developers raised more than a shocking $700 million to fund development from well over 5 million backers, despite no completion date as of late 2024.
Although in development there is a very limited version available to play. If it ever becomes a finished game it’s hoped that Star Citizen will become the best first person open-world space simulation game in our galaxy’s history. If it does, it could very well go down as the greatest game in history.
