Video games are one of the many fascinating creations of men – and they continually evolve as more enhancements are made. So with that, let’s find out in this article the top 20 most expensive video games developed for various platforms such as PC, Play Station 1-5, Xbox, Android, and IOS, as revealed by Wikipedia.org.
| Rank | Video Game Title | Development Cost |
| 1 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | $383-557,000,000 |
| 2 | Star Citizen | $320,000,000+ |
| 3 | Cyberpunk 2077 | $316,000,000 |
| 4 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | $302,000,000 |
| 5 | Grand Theft Auto V | $294,000,000 |
| 6 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | $230,000,000+ |
| 7 | Marvel’s Avengers | $170,000,000+ |
| 8 | Destiny | $153,000,000 |
| 9 | Dead Space 2 | $138,000,000 |
| 10 | Final Fantasy VII | $129–234,000,000 |
| 11 | Shadow of the Tomb Raider | $113–139,000,000 |
| 12 | Grand Theft Auto IV | $120,000,000+ |
| 13 | APB: All Points Bulletin | $119,000,000 |
| 14 | Max Payn e 3 | $118,000,000 |
| 15 | Battlefield 4 | $111,000,000 |
| 16 | Deadpool | $111,000,000 |
| 17 | Disney Infinity | $111,000,000 |
| 18 | Tomb Raider | $111,000,000 |
| 19 | Genshin Impact | $100,000,000 |
| 20 | Red Dead Redemption | $95–119,000,000 |
ANALYSIS
The following video games on rank 1 to 4 had a development cost of over $300 million: Red Dead Redemption 2, Star Citizen, Cyberpunk 2077, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Moreover, they were all developed within the last ten years, with Star Citizen being the earliest produced in 2010 and Cyberpunk 2077 being the latest made in the previous year. Red Dead Redemption 2 was developed by Rockstar Studios and had a total development cost of $383-557 million (including inflation), making it the most expensive video game developed on our list.
Meanwhile, the second group in this list includes Grand Theft Auto V, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Marvel’s Avengers, Destiny, Dead Space 2, and Final Fantasy VII. They are in 5th to 10th rank in development cost, ranging from $129-$294 million.
The last group includes video games on rank 11 to 20 on our list – Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Grand Theft Auto IV, APB: All Points Bulletin, and Max Payne 3. Meanwhile, Battlefield 4, Deadpool, Disney Infinity, Tomb Raider, and Genshin Impact have the exact development cost of exactly $111M. Finally, the first version of Red Dead Redemption comes last on our list, with the game’s development lasting over five years that costs $95–119M.
Among the top 20, Final Fantasy VII is the earliest developed and was released in 1997. On the other hand, Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel’s Avengers, and Genshin Impact are the latest releases in 2020 and 2021. Three games on this list were published by Rockstar Games – Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Max Payne 3. Most are also available in multiple platforms like Microsoft Windows, Xbox One/X/S/360, PlayStation 3, 4, and 5, IOS, macOS, and Stadia. However, Star Citizen and Star Wars: The Old Republic are the most limited ones, as they are only playable via Microsoft Windows. Only Genshin Impact and Final Fantasy VII are available in IOS and Android, while Disney Infinity is the only one in our top 20 list that is playable via Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii/Wii U.
Technically, it takes a lot of money to produce high-quality video games like these. But most end up with extremely high returns and become top-grossing in the gaming world, like Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The superb graphics, the features set even on minor details, and most especially the very realistic settings make it quite expensive to develop – plus the marketing. But these also attract gamers worldwide – thus, developers and producers take the million-dollar risk on development cost.
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Reference and Image Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_video_games_to_develop
