When we talk of expensive video games, the online-only first-person shooter video game Destiny would be right at the top of the list.
In 2014, it cost Activision $500 million to develop and promote the video game “Destiny”. The Video Gaming World is one that increases daily, with over one hundred and fifty-five million Americans playing video games at least 3 hours a week, companies are beginning to invest heavy in the production and marketing of these games.
Don’t just take our word for it, here is a list of the most expensive video games:
10. Red Dead Redemption
The open world western action-adventure video game, developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games cost $100 million to develop.
9. APB: All Points Bulletin
Another game on the $100 million development cost is APB. All Points Bulletin is an open world multiplayer online video game for Microsoft Windows. APb is a mission game based in urban sprawls; in this game, it’s all about the Criminals and the Enforcers.
8. Too Human
Between 2008 and 2010, there was this trend of video gaming companies putting an investment cap of $100 million in their developments. Too Human is an action role-playing game developed by Canadian developer Silicon Knights and published by Microsoft Studios.
The game had been in the development pipeline for over 10 years and the first release was in 2008 for the Xbox 360 console.
7. Grand Theft Auto IV
The Famous GTA franchise is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on the 29th of April 2008 and this time, the development costs was over $100 Million.
6. Star Citizen
Star Citizen is a space sim video game for Microsoft Windows and Linux. It involves a first-person space combat component, mining, exploration, and trading. The game is built on a modified CryEngine and will support all major Virtual Reality headsets. This time, we begin to move above the $100 million figure, with a $129 million cost of production.
5. Star Wars: The Old Republic
With a $200 million-plus budget, The Old Republic was released in 2011 for Microsoft Windows platform. The game is a multiplayer online role-playing game based in the Star Wars universe. It was developed by BioWare Austin & Edmonton.
4. Final Fantasy VII
The fourth most expensive video game on our list is Final Fantasy VII; with an estimated $214 million spent in the development and marketing process. It was developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation platform. The interesting thing is that this game was first released in 1997!
3. Grand Theft Auto V
GTA 5 which was released in 2013 saw some major improvements in its graphics, development and marketing costs. The game was made available for PC, PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The plot of GTA 5 has left gamers playing this game over and over again!
Total Development and Marketing cost: $270 million
2. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
With an estimated $276 million dollar investment, COD: Modern Warfare 2 is number 2 on our list. COD is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The game was released worldwide on the 10th of November 2009 for Xbox, PlayStation and Microsoft Windows.
1. Destiny
Drum roll…….. And now for our number 1! Destiny, with an investment of $500 million, no game beats it in terms of financial investments. The game was released in 2014 and has set itself high above the rest. We can’t wait to see what the future of gaming holds.