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

Counting down the 25 most expensive video games ever made: is your favourite on the list?