1. Destiny – 2014


Activision spent $500 million on the development and promotion of Destiny, the most expensive game ever made. Destiny cost more than most summer blockbusters!

2. Grand Theft Auto V – 2013


In Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V, you can hijack an armored truck. The game’s developers might’ve had to do the same, given the $265 million price tag on the open-world action game.

3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – 2009


Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was an incredibly successful game that cost about $50 million to develop. Add on $200 million on launch and marketing costs, you’ve got a quarter-mil invested.

4. Star Wars: The Old Republic – 2011


The Star Wars MMORPG was developed by more than 800 people over six years and cost $200 million.

5. Final Fantasy VII – 1997


Spending $145 million on a game made in the ’90s is hard to wrap your mind around. At least the final product was one of the best RPGs of all time.

6. Shenmue II – 2001


The sequel to the original Shenmue cost $132 million.

7. Max Payne 3 – 2012


The gritty shooter from Rockstar was a $105 million expenditure for the developer. It sure was a better use of money than the movie.

8. Grand Theft Auto IV – 2008


Back in 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV was the most expensive game of all time, at $100M. Now that figure looks minuscule in comparison to other games’ big budgets.

9. Too Human – 2008


The Xbox 360 exclusive cost developer Silicon Knights $100 million to make. A sequel to the expensive original is reportedly in the works.

10. Red Dead Redemption – 2010


Red Dead Redemption will go down as one of Rockstar’s greatest efforts. Venturing into the wild, wild west tallied $100 million for the GTA developer.

11. Disney Infinity – 2013


Disney put more than $100 million into the Infinity franchise. Disney Infinity uses various figurines that sync with the game and allow custom, interchangeable gameplay.

12. Deadpool – 2013


Activision’s High Moon Studios spent an estimated $100 million on Deadpool. Unfortunately, the game was released to less-than-stellar reviews.

13. Tomb Raider – 2013


Reboots are never cheap, but they can definitely be worth it. This fresh take on the Tomb Raider franchise revitalized the game series and was well worth the $100 million price.

14. Defiance – 2013


Defiance was born out of a convergence of television and video games. Based on SyFy’s series of the same name, an MMORPG was released at a price tag of $80 million.

15. Shenmue – 1999


An extremely pricey game to make at $70 million, Shenmue took seven years to develop and sold just 1.2 million copies.

16. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots – 2008


With the amount of detail packed into Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, it’s shocking that Konami was able to bring it to the masses for just $70 million.

17. Watch Dogs – 2014


Watch Dogs was long in development before its release in 2014. The open-world hacking adventure cost $68 million to make.

18. Crysis 3 – 2013


According to the Crytek CEO, the third installment in the Crysis series cost three times the original. That puts the charge at $66 million for one beautifully constructed game.

19. Final Fantasy XIII – 2009


The 2009 RPG from Square Enix cost the Japanese developer $65 million to produce.

20. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – 2012


The third-person cover-based shooter by Ubisoft comes in at $65 million.

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