Top 10 Most Expensive Video Games Ever Made
They spent how much?! Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the top 10 Most Expensive Video Games Ever Made.
For this list, we take a look at games that required massive investment to be developed, promoted and manufactured. Some of these titles justified such an exorbitant budget, becoming commercial and critical successes, but others received far more negative reactions by audiences. Also, bear in mind that many of the quoted figures are best estimates as companies are often unwilling to release their exact spending figures. Simlarly, all numbers are for the time of the game's release and would be higher once adjusted for current US inflation.
Special thanks to our users HockFin, Matt Quirke, Imran Babi, Duel Blades and many others for submitting the idea at WatchMojo.comsuggest
Top 10 Most Expensive Video Games Ever Made
Another Top 10 MOST EXPENSIVE Video Games Ever Made!
They spent how much?! Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 Most Expensive Video Games Ever Made. For this list, we take a look at games that required massive investment to be developed, promoted and manufactured. Some of these titles justified such an extortionate budget, becoming commercial and critical successes, but others received far more negative reactions by audiences. Also, bear in mind that many of the quoted figures are best estimates as companies are often unwilling to release their exact spending figures. Simlarly, all numbers are for the time of the game’s release and would be higher once adjusted for current US inflation.
#10: “Deadpool” (2013)
While this $100 million beat em’ up featuring the Merc with a Mouth wasn’t quite as bad as the character’s first big screen appearance, it still lacked the type of gameplay you might expect from such an expensive title. Wade Wilson’s typically vulgar, fourth wall-breaking humor was abundant however, even poking fun at the developers and the shortcomings of the game. As much as Deadpool mocks gaming clichés, it doesn’t hide the fact that many of those same tropes are present in almost every lifeless level. This all stemmed from a notably tumultuous existence: High Moon Studios employees were fired during development and the game was pulled from online services after release, perhaps Deadpool really was in charge all along.
#9: “Max Payne 3” (2012)
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There was considerable pressure on Rockstar to deliver a game that would not only live up to Remedy’s previous two third-person shooters but also be a commercial success. By pumping $105 million into the project that was meant to be released way back in 2009, they ensured the series carried on in it’s exceptional dark tone but left themselves needing to sell 4 million copies just to break even. While an aggressive marketing strategy eventually allowed them to hit that mark, Rockstar greatly overestimated the game’s sales projections, resulting in a lot of unsold copies of the game ending up in bargain bins everywhere.
#8: “Red Dead Redemption” (2010)
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If Max Payne 3 was a high cost gamble that didn’t come off then this open world Western is one that was absolutely worth the hefty price tag. Selling 13 million copies, Rockstar comfortably recouped their estimated $80-100 million budget and created one of the best games ever in the process. They used every second of the five-year development cycle to craft a beautifully diverse world full of fascinating characters and plenty of Wild West machismo. With a sequel reportedly coming next year, expect the Red Dead universe to get even bigger and better.
#7: “Too Human” (2008)
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From the premise alone you can understand why this action RPG taking a sci-fi angle on Norse mythology was persisted with for nearly a decade of development. During that time it racked up costs of $60-100 million over three separate consoles, yet the end product on the XBOX 360 was a mediocre game that looked good but was ultimately too short and boring to play. The nightmare didn’t end with the game’s release however: Epic Games, developers of the engine on which Too Human was built, won a protracted copyright lawsuit that required Silicon Knights to pay $4.5 million and destroy all unsold copies of Too Human, a setback that eventually led to the company’s bankruptcy in 2014.
#6: “Shenmue” (2000)
Despite being the fourth best-selling game for Sega’s Dreamcast, this revolutionary title is a notorious commercial flop. Although some of its touted $70 million budget went towards the sequel, the 1.2 million copies sold were nowhere near enough make the most expensive game ever made at the time profitable. Its slow and often-mundane approach deterred many players but the introduction of features like QTEs, a day-night system and an interactive world imagined with then-impressive looking graphics left such an impact on those who bought it that the relatively tiny sum of $6.3 million was crowdfunded to support the upcoming third installment in the series.
#5: “Final Fantasy VII” (1997)
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The legacy left by this legendary title is still felt by contemporary gamers but it didn’t come cheap: $45 million went on development and $100 million was allocated for marketing an RPG that was one of the first to convincingly penetrate the North American market. Square’s move to 3D and the elevation of production values was lapped up around the world as 2.3 million copies were sold in just three days. Surprisingly for a game regularly labeled as the best ever, the developers were forced to leave out several planned elements to meet a tight release date. Those exclusions apparently made no difference to fans and it went on to sell 11 million units.
#4: “Star Wars: The Old Republic” (2011)
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BioWare had already proved they could handle one of the greatest media properties ever when they released the Knights of the Old Republic in 2003 and so were trusted with $200 million of EA investment for this subscription-based MMORPG. They created a game of immense scale and depth – it contained 1,600 hours of story content - yet still faced some criticism for getting muddled between an MMORPG and a Mass Effect-style experience. Although it required the move to a free-to-play model to reinvigorate interest in the game, it has been regularly expanded and in 2014 was still earning $165 million a year.
#3: “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” (2009)
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Following the first Modern Warfare title selling 17 million copies, Activision could happily throw money at the sequel without worry of it ever being a failure. The development costs were relatively modest at just $40-50 million but they put a staggering $200 million into marketing this FPS titan around the world. Featuring a refined, almost flawless online multiplayer and new spec ops mode, five million copies were sold in a day and, despite the airport massacre controversy, it went past $1 billion in sales in just a few months. The series has grown tired since this juggernaut’s success but where can it really go when near perfection has already been achieved?
#2: “Destiny” (2014)
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The $500 million figure bandied about by Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is monstrous but perhaps slightly misleading: all that cash is not just for development, neither is it solely for the first game in the franchise. These funds will lay the foundations for a ten-year plan between Activision and Bungie as they iterate on their FPS-MMO hybrid. Expansions like The Taken King have already improved critical reception, addressing the oft-maligned story, quest system and bosses through feedback from their reported 25 million registered players. Reliable sales figures are always hard to come by but with that many players on board, it’s likely Destiny is another billion-dollar franchise. Before we reveal our top pick, let’s take a look at some honorable mentions. “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” (2015) $80+ million “Tomb Raider” (2013) $100 million “Disney Infinity” (2013) $100+ million “Defiance” (2013) $80 million
#1: “Grand Theft Auto V” (2013)
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This open-world title offers limitless possibilities – especially if you’re running a mod or too – and so was inevitably going to leave a sizeable hole in Rockstar’s pockets. With a reported cost of $265 million, it dwarfed the $100 million budget of its older sibling and similarly obliterated it in pretty much every statistic you can think of. Benefiting from releases over two generations of consoles, 65 million copies have been sold and although free DLC likely eats into their $2 billion revenue, the online mode is a constant money making machine. Its numbers are often compared to that of Hollywood’s biggest projects and rightly so, its carnage frequently outdoes a blockbuster hit. Do you agree with our list? What massive budget games have you played? For more gaming top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
