The excitement around Grand Theft Auto VI is growing, with the November release date not far away now. The level of hype around the game is such that its maker Rockstar took the remarkable decision to 'premiere' its latest trailer for the game on Netflix, before making it available to the wider public six hours later.
Reports suggest Rockstar has spent up to $2 billion (£1.48bn) on developing and branding the game, and surpassing Hollywood blockbuster movie budgets is becoming increasingly common in the video game industry.
With that in mind, click or scroll on to discover the staggering costs of some of your favourite video games, ranked from least to most expensive.
Given that some of these games were released almost 30 years ago, when $1 was equivalent to roughly $2 in today's money, we have adjusted figures for inflation to provide a more accurate comparison.
Note: we have excluded the 2013 Deadpool game from our list as reports of the budget being $100 million have never been verified. In 2024, former Marvel games manager Chris Baker described this figure as an exaggeration that was "not even close" to the actual budget.
All dollar amounts in US dollars
Konami's hit stealth game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was released in 2015.
No expense was spared on the action-adventure saga, which had an estimated budget of $80 million – approximately $112 million (£83.2m) when adjusted for inflation.
Praised for its fluid gameplay and engaging storyline, the game has reportedly sold more than nine million units and is regarded as one of the best in the Metal Gear franchise.
CD Projekt's third entry in the hit Witcher franchise, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, was released in 2015.
The action-packed role-playing game (RPG) boasted an estimated budget of $81 million, or around $114 million (£84.6m) in today's money. The hefty investment paid off, with the game widely acclaimed for its combat gameplay, cutting-edge graphics, and immersive fantasy world-building.
To date, it's sold more than 65 million units worldwide, solidifying its status as the bestselling game in the entire franchise.
Developed by DICE, the first-person shooter (FPS) Battlefield 4 debuted in 2013.
The action-packed game reportedly cost around $100 million to develop, the equivalent of around $143 million (£106.4m) today.
Praised for its impressive graphics and engaging multiplayer mode, the game reportedly had over seven million players by May 2014.
Max Payne 3, the third instalment of Rockstar's gritty crime noir franchise, hit shelves in 2012 following a painful three-year delay. It proved to be worth the wait, however, earning rave reviews.
This success was partly attributed to the hefty $105 million invested in its development, a sum equivalent to around $152 million (£113m) today.
But despite boasting a blockbuster budget and debuting to much acclaim, the game has only shifted around four million units to date, an underwhelming result compared to some of the other games featured in our round-up.
Rockstar gem Red Dead Redemption was released in 2010.
This Western saga is estimated to have cost between $80 and $100 million to develop, the equivalent of $122 million (£91m)-$153 million (£113.7m) today. Renowned for its immersive gameplay, including a gripping storyline and stunning graphics, it earned both critical acclaim and commercial success upon its release.
Solidifying its status as one of the bestselling video games of all time, Rockstar reported in 2021 that the hit title had sold 23 million copies worldwide.
The fourth instalment of Rockstar's formidable Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series hit the gaming scene in 2008.
With an estimated budget of $100 million, the equivalent of $155 million (£115.2m) in today's money, a substantial portion was allocated to crafting the graphics of Liberty City, meticulously designed to mirror New York City.
The game achieved a record-breaking debut, selling over six million copies in its first week alone, a new sales record at the time for any entertainment format, including films. Its sales have soared to a staggering 25 million copies and counting, solidifying GTA IV's status as a timeless classic in the gaming world.
Developed by CD Projekt, the sci-fi RPG game Cyberpunk 2077 was released in 2020.
The game, praised for its immersive open-world setting and cutting-edge graphics, is estimated to have cost around $125 million to create. In today's money, that's $161 million (£119.5m).
Although Cyberpunk 2077 received heavy initial backlash for performance glitches, it's proved a roaring success in the longer run, with more than 40 million units sold to date.
The classic Tomb Raider video game franchise underwent a reboot in 2013, with the second entry in the new saga, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, debuting in 2018.
The game boasted a substantial budget, estimated to be between $75 million and $125 million. In today's money, that's between $100 million (£74m) and $166 million (£123.4m).
The Tomb Raider franchise remains one of the most successful in gaming history, having shifted around 100 million copies worldwide since its launch in the mid-1990s.
The original Dead Space hit shelves in 2008, with the hotly-anticipated remake released in 2023. It's estimated the reboot cost up to $160 million (£120m) to create, which rises to $175 million (£130m) when you adjust for inflation.
The survival horror game debuted to positive reviews, with critics and players praising everything from the impressive graphics and redesign to the tense pacing.
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Bungie and Activision's ambitious sci-fi game Destiny debuted to rave reviews in 2014.
The online multiplayer first-person shooter boasted an estimated budget of $140 million, $197 million (£146,5m) in today's money, with much of the cost attributable to the visually stunning and immersive worldbuilding and storytelling.
The game sold an incredible 10 million units worth $500 million on its first day of release. A follow-up to the hit game was released in 2017, though both its production budget and revenues were much lower.
The second instalment of the Halo series hit shelves in 2004. Widely credited with revolutionising the first-person shooter genre, it featured an exhilarating single-player campaign mode and a pioneering multiplayer mode that many successful shooter games went on to emulate.
Two decades after its release, Halo 2 remains the bestselling original Xbox game, with more than 8.5 million copies sold.
Bungie's estimated total expenditure for developing the game ranges from $120 million to $125 million, with a significant portion of this budget allocated to the game's production value. In today's money, that amounts to an impressive $212 million (£157.4m)-$221 million (£164m).
The action role-playing sequel Horizon Forbidden West was released in 2022, five years after the first entry in the saga.
Developers Guerrilla Games reportedly hired a team of 300 people to develop the game and splurged $212 million on its creation, the equivalent of around $242 million (£179.7m) in today's money.
The game has sold over 8.5 million copies to date.
The oldest game on our list, Square Enix released its groundbreaking role-playing game Final Fantasy VII back in 1997. No expense was spared in its development, and it boasted cutting-edge graphics and character models for the time, coupled with a gripping storyline that had gamers hooked.
Fast forward to today, and Final Fantasy VII is regarded as a classic, having sold over 15 million units. The game is so beloved that a remake featuring more up-to-date graphics hit shelves in 2020.
As for the total budget, it's estimated that Square Enix splurged up to $127 million, which works out at a staggering $264 million (£196m) in today's money.
Developed by Naughty Dog, the follow-up to the blockbuster game The Last of Us was released in 2020 following a lengthy seven-year wait for fans of the franchise.
Part II of the zombie-apocalypse survival game reportedly had a budget of $220 million, around $284 million (£210.8m) in today's money. The considerable investment proved fruitful, with the game selling 2.8 million units in its first month, passing the 10 million mark in 2022.
In 2023, the gaming franchise was turned into a series starring Pedro Pascal on HBO, with a second series following in 2025.
Star Wars: The Old Republic, a collaboration between BioWare and LucasArts, became the most expensive multiplayer online role-playing game when it launched in 2011. Its estimated development cost is an eye-watering $200 million, the equivalent of $297 million (£220m) today.
Thankfully, the hefty budget paid off. The game achieved widespread acclaim for its immersive Star Wars universe, engaging storyline, and intense player-versus-player combat mode.
A commercial success too, the game sold two million units within a year of its release. By 2019, it had grossed over $1 billion in sales.
In 2013, the wildly popular Grand Theft Auto V made its debut following a lengthy five-year development period. The estimated budget for the open-world crime game reached a colossal $265 million, or $380 million (£282.2m) in today's money.
This risky investment yielded great returns, with the game grossing an incredible $1 billion within three days of its release.
To date, the game has sold more than 230 million copies globally, with the impressive graphics and detailed world still impressing players more than a decade on.
Infinity Ward and Activision unveiled their landmark game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009.
The first-person shooter boasted a staggering estimated budget of $250 million, a whopping $389 million (£289m) in today's money, and featured cutting-edge graphics and pulse-racing gameplay that left gamers craving more.
Allocating such an enormous budget can be a major risk, but in this case it paid off. By 2010, the game had achieved an incredible $1 billion in retail sales.
We've already covered Red Dead Redemption, but what about its 2018 follow-up Red Dead Redemption 2? As a prequel to the original game, this open-world Western captivated players with its stunning visuals, compelling storyline and multiplayer mode.
Sources differ on the game's budget, with estimates ranging from $137 million to an eye-watering $540 million when accounting for factors such as marketing. In today's money, that's between $182 million (£135.2m) and $718 million (£533.3m).
Regardless of the cost, the investment seriously paid off for Rockstar, and the game has sold an incredible 70 million copies to date.
As we've mentioned, the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI boasts a reported budget of up to $2 billion (£1.48bn). This not only positions GTA VI as by far the most expensive video game ever, but also as the largest-budget project across all entertainment sectors, comfortably surpassing blockbusters such as Avatar and the most recent Star Wars trilogy.
The stunning cost is attributed to hyper-realistic graphics and the expansive open-world setting of Leonida, which is based on Florida.
Clearly, the game is going to need to sell in huge numbers to justify that incredible spending. Good news then for its makers that the early signs are promising. Strauss Zelnick, the boss of Take-Two Interactive, which owns Rockstar, said demand for the game has been "unprecedented" since pre-orders opened in June.
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