There is no single typical price to make a video game. The cost depends on its scope, team, schedule, platforms, marketing and post-launch plans. At the high end, Boston Consulting Group described AAA development in December 2024 as a $100 million endeavor or more. That is a broad AAA benchmark—not an average for games overall or a price tag for any specific title.
What does a video game budget include?
Before comparing figures, check what the budget counts. “Development cost” may refer to making the game, while a publisher’s broader commitment can also include promotion, launch and ongoing operations. Those are distinct expenses; a figure that includes them cannot be compared directly with a production-only estimate.
- Production: Development time, the team, game content and technical work. Costs vary with the scope and complexity of the project.
- Promotion and publishing: Launch campaigns and related activity can contribute substantially to AAA publishing costs, according to a 2025 European Parliament study.
- Mobile user acquisition: Mobile games may face significant costs to attract players. BCG identifies competition and changes to campaign targeting and measurement amid privacy changes as pressures on acquisition.
- Live operations: Games that continue after launch may require data centers, matchmaking, community engagement, operations, support and new content.
Why is there no reliable average cost?
The available public figures do not establish one representative budget across indie, mobile, AA and AAA games. These projects differ in scope, team size, schedule, platform plans and ongoing commitments. A single average would be misleading without a defined sample, year, geography and accounting boundary.
The Game Developers Conference’s 2025 public report page says half of developers self-fund their games, but it does not provide a public distribution of project budgets. That funding statistic therefore cannot tell you what an indie game typically costs to make.
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How much can an AAA game cost?
BCG’s December 2024 report, “Leveling Up for the New Reality”, characterizes AAA development as a $100 million endeavor or more, often much more. Treat this as a market-level high-end benchmark, not a universal minimum or an estimate for a named game.
BCG also reported that PC and console AAA budgets grew at a 6% compound annual rate from 2017 through 2022. It forecast an 8% annual rate from 2022 through 2028; that was a forecast published in 2024, not confirmation of the rate ultimately achieved. Neither trend calculates the cost of an individual project.
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How much does it cost to make an indie game?
The sources cited here do not establish a defensible current indie-game budget range. “Indie” alone does not specify how much content a game has, how long it is in development, how large its team is, or whether the budget includes marketing and post-launch work. A specific number without those details would imply more certainty than the evidence supports.
How do platforms and tools affect the budget?
Each planned platform is a scope decision that can affect development and release work. A 2025 European Parliament study notes that engines such as Unity and Unreal support multiplatform development and may make it easier and cheaper. It does not quantify savings for a particular game, so an engine choice should not be treated as a guaranteed budget reduction.
For mobile projects, include player acquisition in the plan rather than treating production as the whole cost. BCG describes rising acquisition pressure in a competitive market and points to reduced campaign targeting and measurement effectiveness amid privacy changes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What should you define before estimating a game’s cost?
- Set the scope: Define the genre, core features, content volume and expected level of polish.
- Plan the team and timeline: Estimate who must build the game and how long production will take.
- Choose target platforms: List the launch platforms and account for the work needed to support them.
- Separate budget lines: State whether the estimate covers production only or also promotion, publishing and launch.
- Account for acquisition: For a mobile release, plan for user acquisition as a separate pressure, not an assumed part of development.
- Decide what happens after launch: Include ongoing content, infrastructure, support and operations if the game will be maintained as a live service.
Only compare estimates that use the same scope and accounting boundary. A production-only figure and a total publisher commitment answer different questions.
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