10 most expensive video games of all time - gamebasin.com

8/11/2019 10 Most Expensive Video Games of All Time - GameBasin.com

1/11

10 Most Expensive Video Games Of

All Time

http://www.gamebasin.com/news/10-most-expensive-video-games-of-all-

time

The gaming industry has come a long way. It used to be made up of a couple of passionate

programmers sat in theirbasementscoding furiously,hoping tocatch theattentionof the few

companies forwardthinking (or reckless) enough to invest in this newfangled business.

Gamescreatedonaglorifiedcalculatorbyoneortwosmartladswithavision.Ratherbasicgames,

compared to today, but they cost the equivalent of a double cheeseburger and large Coke to

produce.Fastforwardtotoday,andthingsaredrasticallydifferent.Thisisnowamultibilliondollar

industry, a topheavy behemoth in the entertainment world, led by massive corporations and

developmentteams.Yes,yougetyourindieladswhostillgoitalone,butthecommercialleading

edgeof the industry iselsewhere. Its themultimillionselling franchiseswithHollywoodesque

production qualities, made by armies of programming wizards, backed up by NASDAQlisted

publishersand

millions

of

marketing

dollars.

The

top

flight

titles

that

pull

in

the

kind

of

cash

that

couldfillScroogeMcDucksvaulttentimesover.Buthowmuchofthatissuckedintotheroaring

furnacethatmakesitallhappenthedevelopment,theR&D,themarketingandhowmuchis

leftoverwhenyoudothemath?Whenagamecanearntheequivalentofasmallislandcountrys

GDPinamatterofdays,youwouldimaginethattheyrelaughingallthewaytothebank.Thats

until you have a look at what these monstrous games cost to produce. In short, its bloody

frightening.Weretalkingcrazymoneyhere,folks.Butletstakeacloserlook,shallwe?Itsworth

notingthatofficialcostingsarerarelyrevealedopenly,soexactfiguresarehardtocomeby,but

industryanalystscangiveusaprettyaccurate ideaofwhat itcosttogetthesegamesonstore

shelves.So,readonfortenofthemostridiculouslyexpensivegameseverproduced


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10. Tomb Raider - 100 Million

Square Enix took a necessary leapof faith with the2013 releaseof Tomb Raider.Almost two

decades old, gaming audiences were losing interest in the brunette bombshell and her crypt

thieverysomethingdrastichadtobedone. Insteadoftryingmovethestoryforward insome

contrivedway,CrystalDynamicstookusrightbacktotheverybeginningwithacompletereboot

oftheLaraCroftnarrative.Itwasarisk,anditpaidoffhansomely.Initsfirstmonthonstoreshelves

TombRaidersold3.4millioncopies.Butwhilethatsoundsimpressivetous,themanonthestreet,

toSquareEnixitwasntnearlyenoughthepublisherhadenvisioneditwouldselltothetuneof

56millioncopiesinthatsameperiod,projectingalmostdoubletheactualsales.Andthatwasa

relativelyconservativeestimate,shavingoffabout1015%ofwhattheyhopedforinabestcase

scenario.Thispointstoasubstantialproductioncost.Tobestrugglingtomakeaprofitafter3.4mill

firstmonthsales,youjustknowthatSquareEnixthrewbigmoneyintothisproject.Hardfigures

arentbandiedaroundopenly,butanalystsputapricetagof$100milliononthishighlyregarded,

criticallyacclaimedadventure. On theplus side,by theendof 2013 thegamehadeventually

startedturningaprofit,andwassurelyboostedwhenthenextgenDefinitiveEditionwasreleased

earlierthisyear.

9. Red Dead Redemption 100 Million


3/11

Asyoumayhaveguessed,thenameRockstarGamesisgoingtoberegularfeatureonthislist.Its

anindicationoftheirwillingnesstoshovelgreatbigpilesofmoneyintogamedevelopment,and

mostofthetimetheir investmentshaveseensubstantialreturns.RedDeadRedemptionwasa

particularlyimportantreleaseforparentcompanyTakeTwoInteractivethiswasfirsttimesince

2000thattheyearlyfinancialsshowedaprofitwithoutaGTAreleasetopullinthecash.Itwasnt

an easy task though. The gaming press was awash with reports of empoyee abuse over at

developerRockstarSanDiegoharshworkingconditions,unfairpressureonstaffwithoutsuitable

salaryadjustments tomake itworththeirextraeffortespeciallyas thedevelopmentprocess

reachedthefranticcrunchtimeleadinguptorelease.Anincrediblybigproduction,spanningfrom

2005to2010,withhundredsofstaffhavingahandinitovertheyears,RedDeadRedemptionwas

estimatedtohavesetthepublisherbackaround$100million.Thatsasizeable investment,but

thesalesfigureswhistleahappytune.By2012theopenworldWesternepichadshifted13million

copies,andhadfilledtheRockstartrophycabinetwithawardsandaccoladesfromeverycornerof

theindustry.

8. Grand Theft Auto IV 100 Million


4/11

ItsRockstarGamesagain,thistimewithNikoBellicssprawlingmisadventuresthroughLibertyCity

inGrandTheftAutoIV.OfthefewfranchiseswhichcangiveCallOfDutyarunforitsmoneyfor

sales,anyGrandTheftAutoreleasecomeswiththreeguarantees:Itsgoingtocostashedloadto

produce,itsgoingtobreakacoupleofindustryrecordswhenitlands,anditsgoingtoberipped

apartbyconservativefunspoilersbeforetheyveevenplayedthething.GTAIVtickedallofthose

boxes.In2008,thiswasthemostexpensivegamethisindustryhadeverseen,byquiteamargin

anothertitlegenerallyconsideredbythoseintheknowtohavesetthepublisherbackahefty$100

million.Thatsalotofbanknotes,farmorethanNikoandhisnefariouspalscouldhavestuffedinto

theirduffelbagsinthatepicbankheistmission.Moneywellspent?Ohyes,verymuchso.GTAIV

killed itatretailsomethingalongthe linesof$500million insales in itsfirstweek.Andthat,

friends, iswhatwe calla successful launch.PublicoutcryoverNikosdrunkdriving,prostitute

murdering shenanigansaside,whenyourproductionandmarketingcostsaredwarfedbyyour

weekonerevenues,youreontoagoodthing.

7. Disney Infinity 100 Million

Disneyknewtheyhadacashcowontheirhandswiththisfigurinebasedsmashhityouhaveto


5/11

assumethattheycalleditInfinitybecausethatshowmuchmoneyDisneyexpectstomakewith

thisoneoverthecomingyears.Howmanydollars?$infinity.TheymusthaveseenhowActivisions

bankaccountwasoverflowingwithSkylandersrevenueanddecidedtheywantedapieceofthat

action.Andwhynot?Disneyownssomeofthemostloved,mostwidelyrecognisedcharactersin

entertainment history, an unmissable opportunity to print money on a vast scale. Disney

Interactivehadbeentakingabitofaknock,failingtocapturemuchattentionwithstandalone

titleslikeEpicMickey2whichstruggledatretail.DisneyInfinitywas,somewouldsay,anallor

nothingscenariotheyrestructuredandrefocusedtoploughresources intothisnewproject,

spendingover$100milliontoputitalltogether.ButDisneyneednthaveworried.ByFebruary

2014theyhadsold3millionstarterpacks,surpassingtheirownexpectations.Astarterpack,which

includesacopyofthegame,thebasestationandthreefigurines,issignificantlymoreexpensive

thanyouraveragegame,andwhenyoufactorinthepilesofadditionalfiguressoldseparately

andhowmanyarestilltocomeyoucanalmostsmellthefreshdollarbills.

6. Max Payne 3 105 Million

AndyetanothertitlefromtheRockstarGamesstablecracksthe$100millionmark.Atnumber6

wehave

the

moody

noir

action

drama

Max

Payne

3,

which

rung

up

abill

of

$105

000

000,

according

toindustryanalysts.Bythispointweregettingabitblasaboutafigurelike$105million,solets

give itsomecontext: ifyouweretospendallofthatonBigMacs,andpilethemoneontopof

another,thepilewouldstretchup,well,bloodyhigh.Letsnotgetboggeddownbythedetails.Its

alotofmoney,thatsthepoint.Itsalsoimportantthatwerememberwherefiguresandestimates

likethesecomefrom.ForatotallikeMaxPayne3s$105mill,ananalystwouldtakethenumber

ofstaffonthedevelopmentteam,multiply itbytheaverageannual incomeperdeveloper,and

thenmultiplythatbythe(closeenoughto)5.25yearsittooktomakethegame.Inotherwords,

there isguessworkhere itsnotanexactscience.Still,whetherthatestimate is5oreven10

millionoffthemark,werestilltalkingaboutaconsiderablepricetagforMr.Payneslatestouting.

Rockstarwouldhavefeltittoo,knowingthattobreakeventheywouldhavetosellaround4million

copies.Whichtheydid,butonlyayearlater.Notquitethepropanefuelledsalesexplosionwere


6/11

usedtoseeingfromsomethingwithaRockstarlogoonthebox.Itsunderstandablethoughfive

yearswasalongtimetowaitforagameserieswhich,beforethethirdtitlearrived,hadntsoldfar

morethanaround7millioncopiesoverall.

5. Final Fantasy VII 145 Million

There issomeambiguitywithregards toFinalFantasyVIIsplacementhere. Ifwere lookingat

developmentcostsalone,thishighlyregardedRPGdoesntevencrackthetop20.ButSquare(Now

withaddedEnix!)wassofocusedonmaking inroads intotheseeminglyuncrackableUSmarket

thattheypumpedmorethandoublethedevelopmentbudgetintomarketingalone.Anditworked.

BeforeFinalFantasyVII,veryfewRPGsfromthelandoftherisingsunhadmademeaningfulimpact

intheWest,strugglingtocapitaliseonthishugecustomerbaseandtheirswollenwallets.One

hundredmilliondollarsdidthetrickthough,whichiswhatsourcesclaimSquareearmarkedasa

marketingbudgetforthisgenredefining(andfanbasedividing)roleplayer.TheJapanesemarket

devouredthegamerightawayhardlysurprisingforaFinalFantasylaunchinitshomecountry

sellingover2millioncopiesinitsfirstthreedays.USgamerscametothepartytoo,reachingthe

halfmillion mark within three weeks. A fraction of those sold in Japan, but an impressive

achievementconsidering

the

US

markets

previously

cold

reception

of

JRPGs.

By

May

2010

Final

Fantasy VII had sold 10 million copies,justifying the $145 million spent on the creation and

marketingofoneofthemostlovedroleplayinggamesofalltime.

4. Star Wars: The Old Republic 200

Million


7/11

HowhappyEAmusthavebeeninthoseearlydaysofTheOldRepublic.Industrynewsportalswere

crammedfullofheadlinesaboutRecordBreakingMMOSalesandFastestGrowingMMORPG

forStarWars:TheOldRepublic,braggingaboutanadmirableadoptionrateof1millionusersin

the first threedays.Thehoneymoonphasedidnt lastthoughafterasurgeuptoaround1.7

million,thenumbersdroppedto1.3millioninamonthortwo.EAclaimedthatthisdropwaswithin

their expectations, but it still couldnt have been pleasant news. A year later the whole paid

subscription idea had been abandoned, like many other bigname MMOs. Going with the

freemiummodeltookawaytheinitialbarrierofentry,andnumbersclimbed.Butitmusthavebeen

ablowtoEA,LucasArtsanddeveloperBioWaretohavetogofree2play,consideringscaleofThe

OldRepublicsdevelopmentandthemassivecostsinvolved.Atthetimethereweresourcesputting

itdownforaround$300million,afigurerefutedbyEAsJohnRiccitiello.Mostindustryanalysts,

however, shavedaround $100millionoffof thatestimate.$200millionfor a800strong team

workingonthegameoversixyearswasagambleforEA,whorevealedthatundertheoriginal

subscription model they would need 500 000 monthly users to be profitable. The freemium

structuremadeiteasierforgamerstogetapieceoftheaction,butbuiltasubstantialpaywallto

overcomeifyouwantedthefullexperience.

3. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 200

Million


8/11

AsregularasChristmas,everyyearwegetanewCallOfDutytitle,everyyearwefalloverourselves

tryingtoramitinourconsolesasquicklyashumanlypossible,andeveryyearActivisionsuitssit

smuglyintheboardroom,countingtheirmoneyandcelebratingyetanothersalesrecordbroken.

Mostcopiessold;fastestsellingofalltime;mostcumulativehoursspentonline;leastinnovative

multiplayerthelistgoeson.Theysayyouhavetospendmoneytomakemoney,whichmakesit

oddthentoseethatonlyoneCallOfDutytitlesmakes itontothisTop10 list.Becausetheyre

clearlymakingmoneybutsomehownotalwaysspendingitinaproportionatefashion?Eitherit

doesnt cost as much to drape yet another worldwide warfare setting over the same tired

gameplay,orActivisionisjustmorecageythanmostwhenitcomestorevealingtheirfigures.Still,

whatwedoknowisthat2009smegasellingModernWarfare2costthepublisherafatpileofcash.

InfinityWardgottheirshare,dontworrydevelopmentcostsheresupposedlyranuptoaround

$50million.Andfairplaytothem,asthiswasprobablythemostenduringandenthrallingofthe

ModernWarfaretitlestocomebeforeorsince.Butitsthemarketingandlaunchbudgetthathurls

thisshooterintothirdspotonthelist:awhopping$150millionwasallocatedtogettingtheword

out,tofiringupthathypemachine,andtogettingthegameintoasmanyhandsaspossible.That

maysoundlikeanexorbitantbudgetformarketingandlaunch,butitallmakessensewhenyou

lookatthesalesfigureheadlinesthatfloodedtheinternetwithindaysofthegamelandinginstores.

Firstday

sales

of

$310

million

in

the

US

and

UK.

And

that

was

just

day

one.

Infinity

Wards

Mark

Rubinputtotalworldwidesalesinthe2829millionareaoverallinaninterviewwithTheGuardian,

sowhileModernWarfare2isclearlyoneofthemostexpensivegamesevermade,itsalsooneof

thebiggestsellingofalltime.

2. Grand Theft Auto V 265 Million


9/11

In2013RockstarbeatActivisionattheirowngame.Infact,asfarastheentertainmentindustryis

concerned,theybeateveryone.GrandTheftAutoVbecamethebiggestnameinentertainmentby

hittingthe$1billionrevenuemilestonewithinthreedaysfasterthananyJustinBeaveralbum,

fasterthananyTwilight film,oranythingelse.Thisopenworldcrimecaperbrokeatotalofsix

GuinessWorldRecordsforsalesintheprocess.Thatsoundsaludicrousachievementforavideo

game,soletstakeaquicklookatthosejusttobesure:1.Bestsellingactionadventurevideogame

in24hours2.Bestsellingvideogame in24hours3.Fastestentertainmentpropertytogross$1

billion4.Fastestvideogametogross$1billion5.Highestgrossingvideogamein24hours6.Highest

revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours Ok, so a lot of that sounds like

differentwaystosaythesamething,butthepointisthatRockstarGamesmadeanunbelievable

amountofmoneyoutofthis,oneofthemosthotlyanticipatedreleasesofalltime.Bythetime

TakeTwoInteractiverevealedtheir2014fiscalreports,totalsalesweresittingat33millioncopies.

An incrediblesuccessstory,makenomistake.Obviouslyareleaseofthismagnitude isgoingto

haveaheavydevelopmentandmarketingpricetagattachedtoit,butRockstarknewthatitwasa

prettysafeinvestmentby2013gamerswereinafullblownfrenzyforafollowuptothebrilliant

GTAIV,soweallknewitwouldbeahitatretail.Youhavetobeverycertainthatyouaredelivering

afantasticproductwhenyourepreparedtospend$265milliontomakeithappen.Afterhearing

the sales figures, though, that development and marketing figure sounds almost insignificant,

doesntit?Still,RockstarGamesknewtheirtargetmarket,knewtheyhadastunninggameontheirhands,andknewitwasgoingtobemorethanworththemoney.Ournumberoneentryonthislist,

ontheotherhand,ismoreofagamble.Andasignificantlymoreexpensiveone

1. Destiny 500 Million


10/11

TosaythatActivisionhasalotridingonDestinyisanunderstatementofepicproportions.Bobby

KotickandhisActivisioncomradesarenostrangerstoinvestingheavilyintheproductstheybelieve

in,butevenbytheirstandardsthenumbersbeingthrownaroundforDestinyaremindblowing.

BungiesupcomingMMOextravaganzahasnootheroptionthantobejustaboutperfect,thats

theonlywayitwillcomeclosetomatchingexpectationsexpectationsofcharttoppingMetacritic

ratings,andheadlinegrabbingsales.This isa lot toaskofanygame, letaloneabrandnew IP

withoutthehistoricalfangoodwillthatcomeswithalovedfranchisetobackitup.But,likemany

oflifeschallenges,ifyouthrowenoughmoneyatit,itshouldallworkoutintheend.Whichisthe

angleActivisionisgoingforwithDestiny,andinabigway.CEOBobbyKotickmadeasplashacross

the internetwhenherevealedthatthepublisher ismakinga$500millionbetwithDestiny

almostdoubleRockstarsbill forGTAV.ButActivision isplaying the longgamehere,and that

budgetfiguretakesthatintoconsideration.Development,marketing,MMOinfrastructure,launch

propagandaandmore,andwhereasagamelikeGTAVisforthemostpartaonceoffcost,Destiny

isbeingplottedoutover thenextdecade.Agrand conceptwithagrandprice tag.Lookingat

earningspotential,youwouldhavetoassumethatDestinyisdestinedtobehuge.Withtheamount

ofhypesurroundingthetitleatthemomentheightenedbytheBetadoingtheroundsnowwe

canassumeitwillbesellinginbignumbersrightoutthegate.Profitability,in immediateterms,

wouldneedsomewherearound16millioncopiessoldabigask formostgames,butanalysts

dontsee itbeingaproblem.Rightnow,though,whilewewaiteagerlyforthereleasedatejustaroundthecorner,itsallstillupintheair.ButourmoneyisonDestinytakingcareofthat$500

millionproductionbillwithinweeks,ifnotdays.

PC Game CD Keys:

EAGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/publisher/ea.html

RPGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/pcgames/rpggame.html

ACTGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/pcgames/actgame.html

FPSGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/pcgames/fpsgame.html

AdventureGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/pcgames/avggame.html


11/11

RacingGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/pcgames/racgame.html

SportGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/pcgames/sptgame.html

FTGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/pcgames/ftggame.html

RTSGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/pcgames/rtsgame.html

SLGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamebasin.com/pcgames/slggame.html

10 most expensive video games of all time - gamebasin.com

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