Most Expensive Games Ever Made

1. Activision spent $500 million on the development and promotion of Destiny, the most expensive game ever made. Destiny cost more than most summer blockbusters. .....

Red Dead Redemption

2. This Rockstars Western epic had an estimated development budget of around $100 Million with over 800 people working on the game at once. The workload was so daunting that a lot of these developers were brought in from other studios which were also owned by parent company Rockstar. It took a massive five years to complete the game development. Red Dead Redemption also had an extensive marketing campaign which included a short film airing on the Fo .....

Max Payne 3

3. The expenditure needed to make Max Payne 3 was mostly due to the fact that the game was in development for multiple years past its original 2009 release date. When the game was finally released in May 2012, Rockstar claimed that the setbacks were to ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest gaming satisfaction. The game needed to sell 4 Million copies to be at par with the production costs. Max Payne 3s release included TV spots that aired dur .....

Too Humans

4. Too Humans was produced at over $100 Million. Its mainly because the game was stuck in development from almost a decade. Originally planned for release on the Play station, Silicon Knights then shifted the development to Nintendo Game Cube before finally selling the title to Microsoft as Xbox 360 exclusive in 2005. The studio lost more money on the game after a lawsuit from Epic Games following the unauthorized use of their unreal engine on which .....

Grand Theft Auto IV

5. Rockstar North really pushed the boat out with GTA 4 with one of the biggest marketing campaigns ever conceived for a game, reportedly costing 100 Million USDin addition to another $100 Million for development costs. Its release in 2008 made it the costliest video games ever produced. The official website had 13 unique teasers and four different cinematic trailers alongside a TV commercial, viralmarketingand more generic advertising. .....

Shenmue II

6. Shenmues estimated production cost adjusted for inflation is a staggering$176 Million. This is primarily because Shenmue II is a gigantic game with a massive open world. Arguably the largest in its generation. A huge staff was required to create such a large game in just under two years. Its unlikely that any of the budgets went under marketing costs as the game had little to no publicity behind it. .....

Star Wars The Old Republic

7. Its said that the BioWares development of their MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic started six years before the game finally released. In 2009 BioWare claimed that their project had more story content than all of their other games combined which is why they had a full time writing staff writing the script in lower of full two years before the gameplay development began. During its release in 2011 it was said to be the most expensive game ever. The .....

Final Fantasy VII

8. Squares initial foray into 3D technology with the Final Fantasy Franchise required 120 programmers and artists to develop, making it the most expensive video game ever developed at the time. However, Final Fantasy VIIs development costs were considerably small in comparison to the amount spent on the games huge advertising campaign. This included a promotion with Pepsi ads and big magazines such as Rolling Stone and Playboy as well as Marvel and .....

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2

9. This first person shooter which was released in 2009 is the sixth edition in the Call of Duty Series. After the Universal critical acclaim that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare received, its no surprise that Infinity Ward wanted to go big in its marketing campaign for the sequel. Nearly200 Million Dollarswere spent on the games various publicity materials in addition to the cost of development which was between 40 50 Million USD. .....

Grand Theft Auto V

10. While GTA IV cost Rockstar a hefty sum to advertise and develop, this didnt deter them from going even further in the game sequel. GTA V which cost a reported$265 Millionneeded over 1000 Rockstar employees from around the world to work on the game for a number of years. Los Santos is a detailed resemblance of Los Angeles and the games huge open world scale, said to be why the project needed so much work. .....

Deadpool

11. Activisions High Moon Studios spent an estimated $100 million on Deadpool. Unfortunately, the game was released to less than stellar reviews. .....

Tomb Raider

12. Reboots are never cheap, but they can definitely be worth it. This fresh take on the Tomb Raider franchise revitalized the game series and was well worth the $100 million price. .....

Defiance

13. Defiance was born out of a convergence of television and video games. Based on SyFys series of the same name, an MMORPG was released at a price tag of $80 million. .....

Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots

14. With the amount of detail packed into Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, its shocking that Konami was able to bring it to the masses for just $70 million. .....

Watch Dogs

15. Watch Dogs was long in development before its release in 2014. The open world hacking adventure cost $68 million to make. .....

Crysis 3

16. According to the Crytek CEO, the third installment in the Crysis series cost three times the original. That puts the charge at $66 million for one beautifully constructed game. .....

Final Fantasy XIII

17. The 2009 RPG from Square Enix cost the Japanese developer $65 million to produce. .....

Tom Clancys Ghost Recon Future Soldier

18. The third person cover based shooter by Ubisoft comes in at $65 million. .....

Rift

19. Released in 2011, Rift is a PC MMORPG and is the most expensive free to play game ever made. Rift is set on the fantasy world of Telara with players choosing a side in a war between two races. Both critics and gamers loved Rift and the game made more than its money back by 2012. .....

Star Citizen

20. Star Citizen is an upcoming space trading and combat simulator for PC. The game is scheduled for release in 2016 and is said to have first person shooting, a massive multiplayer universe and dynamic economy system. The ambitious game already has a dedicated following and multiple forums: anticipation is high. .....

Pokemon Red Blue

21. As the oldest game on this list it comes as a slight surprise that the original Pokemon is also the most expensive. Pokemon Red/Blue came out in 1996 and captured the imaginations of millions by allowing them to fill the shoes of a Pokemon trainer who sets out to take the Kanto region by storm. .....