Most expensive video game budgets
Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 1:05 am
Probably this information isn't reliable but i found it interesting.
Ghostbusters (2009): $15-$20 million
Crackdown (2007): $20 million
Assassin's Creed (2007): $20 million
Lost Planet (2006): $20 million to develop, $20 million to promote
Yakuza+Yakuza 2 (2006-2008): $21 million
Crysis (2008): $22 million
Brutal Legend (2009): $24 million
Assassin's Creed 2 (2009): $24 million
Duke Nukem Forever (2011): $20 - $30 Million
Stranglehold (2007): $30 million
Halo 3 (2007): $30 million, $55 million including promotional costs
Wii Fit (2008): ~$40 million marketing cost
Final Fantasy IX (2000) :$40 million
God of War III (2010): $44 million
Final Fantasy VII (1997): $45 million [equivalent to $64 million in 2012]; plus $100 million marketing
Killzone 2 (2009): $45 million
Driv3r (2004): $48 million (Source)
Final Fantasy XII (2006):$48 million
Tom Clancy MMO: $50 million (IN DEVELOPMENT)
This is Vegas: $40 - $50 Million (CANCELLED)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009): $40-50 million
LA Noire (2011): $50 million
Half Life 2 (2004): $50 Million
All Points Bulletin (2010): $50 million
Halo: Reach (2010): $55 Million
World of Warcraft (2004-Nowadays): $60 Million
Metal Gear Solid 4 (2008): $60 million
Too Human (2008): $60+ million
Shenmue+Shenmue 2 (2000-2001): $70 million [equivalent to $95 million in 2011]
Red Dead Redemption (2010): $80 million
Gran Turismo 5 (2010): $80 million
Grand Theft Auto 4 (2008): $100 million
Max Payne 3 (2012): $105 million
Star Wars:The Old Republic (2011): $200 million
Game Developer Salary Survey 2011 LINK
Ghostbusters (2009): $15-$20 million
Crackdown (2007): $20 million
Assassin's Creed (2007): $20 million
Lost Planet (2006): $20 million to develop, $20 million to promote
Yakuza+Yakuza 2 (2006-2008): $21 million
Crysis (2008): $22 million
Brutal Legend (2009): $24 million
Assassin's Creed 2 (2009): $24 million
Duke Nukem Forever (2011): $20 - $30 Million
Stranglehold (2007): $30 million
Halo 3 (2007): $30 million, $55 million including promotional costs
Wii Fit (2008): ~$40 million marketing cost
Final Fantasy IX (2000) :$40 million
God of War III (2010): $44 million
Final Fantasy VII (1997): $45 million [equivalent to $64 million in 2012]; plus $100 million marketing
Killzone 2 (2009): $45 million
Driv3r (2004): $48 million (Source)
Final Fantasy XII (2006):$48 million
Tom Clancy MMO: $50 million (IN DEVELOPMENT)
This is Vegas: $40 - $50 Million (CANCELLED)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009): $40-50 million
LA Noire (2011): $50 million
Half Life 2 (2004): $50 Million
All Points Bulletin (2010): $50 million
Halo: Reach (2010): $55 Million
World of Warcraft (2004-Nowadays): $60 Million
Metal Gear Solid 4 (2008): $60 million
Too Human (2008): $60+ million
Shenmue+Shenmue 2 (2000-2001): $70 million [equivalent to $95 million in 2011]
Red Dead Redemption (2010): $80 million
Gran Turismo 5 (2010): $80 million
Grand Theft Auto 4 (2008): $100 million
Max Payne 3 (2012): $105 million
Star Wars:The Old Republic (2011): $200 million
Game Developer Salary Survey 2011 LINK
There's also another factor of game budgets a lot of people don't talk about...see back in the 1990s and early 00s, video game budgets were mostly centered around artists, programmers, designers, QA and testers. Nowadays, a huge portion of a game's budget resides in marketing, in fact, for some games, 200% of the budget will go into marketing while the game itself will cost anywhere between $10 and $20 million to actually design and produce.
Another downside to development costs -- something that plagues more studios than many companies let on -- is project waste. Project waste is probably one of the biggest viruses spreading throughout the gaming industry right now. RealTime Worlds was a prime example of how to blow $100 million over the course of five years on a project like All Points Bulletin and the game wasn't even finished by the time the studio exhausted all their funds.