What Is the Most Expensive Video Game Ever Made? (By Budget Type: Dev, Marketing, Revenue, Collector)

"Expensive" has three meanings in game dev. The answer changes per metric.

1. Highest Development Cost (Pure Dev)

Star Citizen (Cloud Imperium Games) — $600M+ raised (Crowdfunding) since 2012. Still in Alpha (Persistent Universe + Squadron 42). Scope: Two games, 100+ star systems, FPS + Space Sim + Fidelity unmatched. Not released.

2. Highest Combined Dev + Marketing Cost (Released Game)

Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar, 2013) — ~$265M Dev + ~$200–300M Marketing = ~$500M+ Total. Recouped Day 1 ($800M). Now $8.5B+ revenue.

Runner-up: Cyberpunk 2077 (~$174M Dev + ~$142M Marketing = ~$316M). Red Dead Redemption 2 (~$170–240M Dev + ~$200M Mkt = ~$400M).

3. Highest Marketing Budget

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) — ~$200M Marketing (incl. $50M "Red Box" TV spots, Jeep partnership, midnight launches). Dev ~$50M. Total ~$250M.

Modern contenders: Destiny 2 (~$140M Mkt), Star Wars: The Old Republic (~$200M+ Dev+Mkt).

4. Highest Revenue (Lifetime)

1. Minecraft: 300M+ copies + Marketplace + Merch + Education. ~$3B+ game sales alone. Microsoft bought for $2.5B (2014).
2. Tetris (Licensed): Estimated $500M+ licensing revenue (lifetime, all versions).
3. GTA V: $8.5B+ (Game + GTA Online).
4. Fortnite: $20B+ (2018–2023).
5. Roblox: $2.8B/year (Bookings).

5. Most Expensive *Per Copy* (Collector)

• Super Mario Bros. (NES, Sealed, Wata 9.8): $2M (2021, Heritage Auctions).
• Super Mario 64 (N64, Sealed, Wata 9.8++): $1.56M (2021).
• Zelda (NES, Sealed, Wata 9.0): $870k (2021).

Summary Table