List of most expensive video games to develop

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

  – Indicates ongoing costs of development post-release

Official figures

Name	Year	Developer	Publisher	Original platform(s)	Costs (million US$)
					Development	Marketing	Total	Total (2024 inflation)
Monopoly Go!	2023	Scopely		Android, iOS		1,000[1]	1,000	1,000
Genshin Impact	2020[a]	miHoYo		Android, iOS, PS4, Windows			900+[b]	974+
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War	2020	Treyarch / Raven Software	Activision	PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S			700[5]	850
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	2019	Infinity Ward	Activision	PS4, Windows, Xbox One			640[5]	787
Star Citizen	TBA[c]	Cloud Imperium Games		Windows	514+[8]	116+[8]	630+[8]	677+
Call of Duty: Black Ops III	2015	Treyarch	Activision	PS3, PS4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One			450[5]	597
Cyberpunk 2077	2020	CD Projekt Red	CD Projekt	PS4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One	174[9]	142[9]	441.9[d]	514
	2023[e]			PS5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S	103.6[f]	21.6[10]
Marvel's Spider-Man 3[g][h]	TBA	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment	TBA			385[11]	397
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	2009	Infinity Ward	Activision	PS3, Windows, Xbox 360	40–50[12]	150–160[12]	200[12]	352–366
Marvel's Spider-Man 2	2023	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment	PS5			315[11]	325
Marvel's Wolverine[h]	TBA	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment	PS5			305[11]	315
Final Fantasy VII	1997	Square	Square, Sony Computer Entertainment	PS1	40–45[13][14]	40–100[15][14]	80–145	157–284
The Last of Us Part II	2020	Naughty Dog	Sony Interactive Entertainment	PS4	220[16]		220[16]	267
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales	2020	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment	PS4, PS5	81.7[17]	25.1[17]	213.3[i]	259
Horizon Forbidden West	2022	Guerrilla Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment	PS4, PS5	212[16]		212[16]	228
Halo 2	2004	Bungie	Microsoft Studios	Xbox	40[18]	80[18]	120[18]	200
Destiny	2014	Bungie	Activision	PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One			140[19]	186
The Callisto Protocol	2022	Striking Distance Studios	Krafton	PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S			162[20]	174
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	2018	Eidos Montréal	Square Enix	PS4, Windows, Xbox One	75–100[21]	35[21]	110–135	138–169
Dead Space 2	2011	Visceral Games	Electronic Arts	PS3, Windows, Xbox 360	60[22]	60[22]	120	168
Grand Theft Auto IV	2008	Rockstar North	Rockstar Games	PS3, Xbox 360			100+[23]	146+
Undawn	2023	Lightspeed Studios, Level Infinite	Tencent Games	Android, iOS, Windows			140[24]	144
Battlefield 4	2013	EA DICE	Electronic Arts	PS3, Windows, Xbox 360	100[25]		100	135
Immortals of Aveum	2023	Ascendant Studios	Electronic Arts	PS5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S	80[26]	45[26]	125	129
Shenmue	1999	Sega AM2	Sega	Dreamcast	47[27][28]		47–70[27]	89–132
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	2015	CD Projekt Red	CD Projekt	PS4, Windows, Xbox One			81[29]	107
Rift	2011	Trion Worlds	Trion Worlds	Windows	50+[30]	10–20[30]	60–70+[30]	84–98+
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	2021	Insomniac Games	Sony Interactive Entertainment	PS5			81[31]	94
Watch Dogs	2014	Ubisoft Montreal	Ubisoft	PS3, PS4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One			68+[32]	90+
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier	2012	Ubisoft Paris, Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft Bucharest	Ubisoft	PS3, Xbox 360			65[33]	89
Gran Turismo 5	2010	Polyphony Digital	Sony Computer Entertainment	PS3			60[34]	87
Gears of War 3	2011	Epic Games	Microsoft Studios	Xbox 360			48–60[35]	67–84
Gears of War: Judgment	2013	Epic Games, People Can Fly	Microsoft Studios	Xbox 360			60[36]	81
Heavy Rain	2010	Quantic Dream	Sony Computer Entertainment	PS3	21.8[37][38]	30.4[37][38]	52.2[37][38]	75
Final Fantasy IX	2000	Square		PS1			40[39]	73
Black Myth: Wukong	2024	Game Science		PS5, Windows			70[40]	70
Lords of the Fallen	2023	Hexworks	CI Games	PS5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S	42.2[41]	24.4[j]	66.6[41]	69
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	1982	Atari, Inc.	Atari, Inc.	Atari 2600			21–22[k]	68–72
Darksiders II	2012	Vigil Games	THQ	PS3, Windows, Xbox 360			50[44]	68
Half-Life 2	2004	Valve	Valve	Windows			40+[45]	67+
Kingdom Under Fire II	2019	Blueside, Phantagram	Gameforge	Windows			50+[46]	66+

Cancelled games

Name	Year cancelled	Developer	Publisher	Platform(s)	Costs (million US$)
					Development	2024 inflation
Titan Project	2007–2008	Ensemble Studios	Microsoft Game Studios	Windows	90[47]	131
Wonder Woman	2025[48]	Monolith Productions	Warner Bros. Games	Unknown	100+[49]	100+
Fable Legends	2016	Lionhead Studios	Microsoft Studios	Windows, Xbox One	75[50]	98
This Is Vegas	2009–2010	Surreal Software	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment	PS3, Windows, Xbox 360	40–50[51]	58–72
Volt	2021	Hangar 13	2K	Un­known	53[52]	53

Unofficial figures

Analyst estimations

Name	Year	Developer	Publisher	Original platform(s)	Analyst(s)		Costs (million US$)				Ref.
					Name	Institution	Dev.	Marketing	Total	Total (2024 inflation)
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	279–333	[53]
Red Dead Redemption 2	2018	Rockstar Games		PS4, Xbox One	Michael Pachter	Wedbush Securities	170		170	213	[54]
Halo 5: Guardians	2015	343 Industries	Microsoft Studios	Xbox One			160		160	212	[55]
Marvel's Avengers	2020	Crystal Dynamics	Square Enix	PS4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One	David Gibson	Astris Advisory			170+	207+	[56]
Final Fantasy VII Remake	2020	Square Enix Business Division 1	Square Enix	PS4	Yuhsuke Koyama	Shibaura Institute of Technology	144		144	175	[57]
					Atul Goyal	Jefferies & Company	<140		<140	<170
Max Payne 3	2012	Rockstar Studios	Rockstar Games	PS3, Xbox 360	Arvind Bhatia	Sterne Agee	105		105	144	[58]
Tomb Raider	2013	Crystal Dynamics	Square Enix	PS3, Windows, Xbox 360	Billy Pidgeon	—			100	135	[59]
Resident Evil 2	2019	Capcom		PS4, Windows, Xbox One	Atul Goyal	Jefferies & Company	<100		<100	<123	[57]
Halo 3	2007	Bungie	Microsoft Game Studios	Xbox 360	Michael Pachter	Wedbush Securities	30+	15–20	60+	91+	[60]
Alan Wake 2	2023	Remedy Entertainment	Epic Games Publishing	PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S	Atte Riikola	Inderes	53.5	21.5	75	77	[61]
Grand Theft Auto IV	2008	Rockstar North	Rockstar Games	PS3, Xbox 360	Michael Pachter	Wedbush Securities	45		45	66	[62]

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	Costs (million US$)				Ref.
						Dev.	Marketing	Total	Total (2024 inflation)
Red Dead Redemption 2	2018	Rockstar Games		PS4, Xbox One	VentureBeat		200–300	200–300	250–376	[54]
Grand Theft Auto V	2013	Rockstar North	Rockstar Games	PS3, Xbox 360	The Scotsman			265	358	[63]
Star Wars: The Old Republic	2011	BioWare	Electronic Arts, LucasArts	Windows	Los Angeles Times	200+			280+	[64]
Too Human	2008	Silicon Knights	Microsoft Game Studios	Xbox 360	USgamer			60–100	88–146	[65]
Red Dead Redemption	2010	Rockstar San Diego	Rockstar Games	PS3, Xbox 360	The New York Times			80–100	115–144	[66]
APB: All Points Bulletin	2010	Realtime Worlds	Electronic Arts, Realtime Worlds	Windows	The Guardian			100	144	[67]
Disney Infinity	2013	Avalanche Software, Altron (3DS)	Disney Interactive Studios	3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360	Los Angeles Times			100+	135+	[68]
Deadpool	2013	High Moon Studios	Activision	PS3, Windows, Xbox 360	GameSpot			100[l]	135	[70]
Mass Effect: Andromeda	2017	BioWare	Electronic Arts	PS4, Windows, Xbox One	Edmonton Journal			100	128	[71]
Defiance	2013	Trion Worlds, Human Head Studios	Trion Worlds	PS3, Windows, Xbox 360	Forbes	80		80	108	[72]
Mortal Kombat II	1994	Probe Entertainment	Acclaim Entertainment	Game Gear, Sega Genesis, SNES	San Francisco Chronicle			50	106	[73]
Sonic & Knuckles	1994	Sega Technical Institute	Sega	Sega Genesis	Los Angeles Times		45	45	95	[74]
Call of Duty: Black Ops	2010	Treyarch	Activision	Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Windows, Xbox 360, OS X	Los Angeles Times			50+	72	[75]
DC Universe Online	2011	Dimensional Ink Games	Daybreak Game Company, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment	PS3, Windows		50		50	70	[76]
L.A. Noire	2011	Team Bondi	Rockstar Games	PS3, Xbox 360	BBC News	50		50	70	[77]
Super Mario Bros. 3	1988	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	NES	The Seattle Times	0.8		25.8+	69+	[78]
					The Indianapolis Star		25+			[79]
Final Fantasy X	2001	Square Product Development Division 1	Square	PS2	Yomiuri Shimbun	32.3		32.3+	61+	[80]
Halo 3	2007	Bungie	Microsoft Game Studios	Xbox 360	The Hollywood Reporter		40	40	61	[81]

See also

• Lists of video games

Notes

1. Includes ongoing costs as of 2024^[update][2]
2. US$100 million for initial development, US$200 million annually for ongoing development as of 2024^{[update][3][4][2]}
3. Playable elements of the game were first released in 2013,^[6] but the game remains in early access, with no final release date announced.^[7] Costs representative of development up to 2022.^[8]
4. Approximately US$316 million for original game^[9] and US$125.9 million for Update 2.0 upgrade and Phantom Liberty downloadable content^[10]
5. Update 2.0 upgrade and Phantom Liberty downloadable content
6. US$40.9 million for Update 2.0 and US$62.7 million for Phantom Liberty DLC^[10]
7. Unannounced game^[11]
8. Projected figure
9. Includes US$106.5 million licensing fee^[17]
10. US$19.3 million for marketing and US$5.1 million for production of physical copies^[41]
11. Licensing fee^[42][43]
12. Chris Baker, former interactive manager at Marvel Games, disputed Deadpool's US$100 million figure in 2024 and claimed the actual budget was "not even close".^[69]