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Nowadays there are numerous games on the market making the choice immense, but what does it cost to develop such a game. In this list we will show you what are the most expensive games ever made.


10. APB: All Points Bullitin – $100 million.

APB is a relatively unknown online multiplayer EA game where the player can choose his clan between policemen and criminals. In the city of San Paro that is entirely dedicated to crime and pursuit, you must be the smartest and most agile to beat your opponents by car or on foot.

Most of the games that appear in this list have become a great success and have recouped the budget. Unfortunately, this is not true of APD. Just a few weeks after its release, the servers were taken offline since the developer was bankrupt. K2 Network eventually bought up the game for 1.5 million pounds and re-released it under the name APB: Reloaded.
In the end, the game cost more than $100 million to develop.

9. Grand Theft Auto IV – $100 million

Grand Theft Auto IV we all know, of course, and we can already reveal that it is not the only GTA in this list. The game released in 2008 revolves around Russian Niko Bellic who finds himself in the city of Liberty City. Like APB, GTA IV cost more than $100 million.
This game was a great success because on day one more than 3.6 million copies were sold and by the end of the week it had reached 6 million. This generated sales of $500 million in one week and the game ended up being sold more than 25 million times.

8. Max Payne 3 – $105 million

Real gamers know Max Payne, of course. Do you game less often? Then it’s high time to get acquainted with this game. In this game you have to deal with assassinations, betrayals and even more challenging missions.
Since his last adventures in Max Payne 2, Max’s appearance has changed a lot, as he is now bald, has a beard and a slight little belly.

Like Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne also comes from Rockstar Games. And this game also cost a lot of money namely more than $105 million. It was clear that a lot of money was invested in the game after a commercial was shot during the 2012 Champions League final.


7. Shadow Of The Tomb Raider – $110 million.

When you hear Tomb Raider, you immediately think of Lara Croft. Shadow Of The Tomb Raider was released in 2018 and is the third and final game in the trilogy. With that, it was also the most expensive game of the three as it cost around $110 million to develop. If you have not played this game yet, you will see that it contains even more complex adventures, puzzles and dangers than the previous two editions.

Unfortunately, the sales of the game disappointed as it was not very innovative compared to the previous two games. Therefore, the chances that the budget was recouped are very small.

6. Dead Space 2 – $120 million.

Dead Space 2 was re-released in 2011 and is a survival horror game that followed the first episode in 2008. Isaac is on a mission in a giant destroyed space station and must once again take on the Necromorphs with multiple new weapons and different environments.

The game was developed by EA which put a lot of money into it, some $120 million. $57 million of this budget was spent on development costs, with the remainder spent on advertisements to promote the game.
Dead Space 2 was well received, but still sales were not realized so the third part was developed with a lower budget.

5. Halo 2 – $120 million

Most gamers will know Halo 2, this legendary first-person shooter was released in 2004 and has entertained millions of players.
In the game, you fight aliens in an almost lost war and humanity relies only on the Master Chief to save civilization.

A total of about $120 million was spent for Halo 2, and the game was also extremely profitable. Looking at the trailer, this is also not surprising especially at this time the graphics were of a tremendously high level.

4. Destiny – $140 million

Destiny was developed by Activision Blizzards and released in 2014. The game is a first person shooter in which the player must fight in a futuristic world against masses of aliens. In the game, weapons can be improved by collecting materials and then participate in battles where strategy is extremely important.

Developing Destiny cost Activision $140 million and has been the most successful new gaming franchise during its launch. For example, 500 million games were shipped to stores worldwide and sales reached $1 billion in 2015. So all in all, Activision has earned quite a bit from this game.

3. Star Wars: The Old Republic – $200 million.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively multiplayer role-playing game released in 2011. The game is set 3,500 years before the first film in the series and takes you back to the time of the Old Republic.

Star Wars: The Old Republic offers players the opportunity to experience epic adventures through crafted and scripted “quests” that allow them to make choices that affect orientation to the bright or dark side of the force.

An incredible amount of money was thrown against this game namely $200 million which is actually almost unimaginable. Three days after launch, the game had three million active users making it the fastest growing MMO.

2. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – $250 million.

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was re-released in 2011 and has probably eluded almost no gamer. As a player, you alternately play as an SAS Soldier and a freedom fighter from a Middle Eastern country.
The game is one of the most popular ever where it ranked second in this list with a budget of $250 million.

In the end, “only” $50 million of the budget went to the development of the game. The remaining $200 million was spent mainly on promoting the game with a marketing campaign. This campaign was very successful as within a day 4.7 million games had already been sold and in 2013 the counter stood at 22.7 million copies sold.

Meanwhile, the new Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is scheduled for October 28 and we are very curious to see how many million have been thrown at this.

1. Grand Theft Auto V – $265 million

Everyone knows the game Grand Theft Auto V and it can’t help but be in the first spot in this list as the most expensive game of all time.
Released in 2013, this action adventure game puts you in the shoes of three never-before-seen characters: Michael, Franklin and Trevor who have taken up residence in the city of Los Santos.

GTA V, like GTA IV, was developed by Rockstar Games who threw a lot of money at this game and in our opinion, it was well worth it. On one day the game made 800 million dollars, which rose to one billion after three days, a record! This makes Grand Theft Auto V the most successful game of all time.

At the moment there is a lot of speculation about GTA VI and we are curious to see what we can expect from it and how many millions it will cost!

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