The last GTA title took the record for the most expensive video game in history and it’s not the least bit surprising that its sequel would break that record – but I didn’t expect it to destroy it this badly.
According to reports from Scottish website, Scotsman.com, the Edinburgh based game has a marketing and development budget of £170 million.
That’s $266 million in American and an eye watering R2 676 000 000 budget for making a video game that your local church leader is going to scoff at and your mother most probably looks down her nose at. The previous record was $100 million for GTA 4 and then $85 for Skyrim.
Wccftech has gone even further and compared the budget to the blockbuster films that Hollywood are making in this fancy graph.
Not only is GTA V the second most expensive entertainment budget ever but even more surprisingly someone budgeted $250 million for Tangled… seriously people?
Anyway normally when you smash records with your budget investors and shareholders get nervous, especially in this high risk industry. But GTA is such a guaranteed blockbuster that Take-Two’s share price has actually doubled in the last year with GTA V sales expecting to break 24 million and rake in over a billion dollars.
It’s worth noting that this includes development and marketing – and if you’ve seen some of the GTA V marketing, you’d know that it’s likely costing Rockstar a fortune. Remember, Modern Warfare 2 had a similar budget back in 2009 – so it’s really not that ludicrous when you add it all up. Ok, it’s still a bit ludicrous. Videogames…big business.
Last Updated: September 9, 2013
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RinceThisandFINALLYlvUP!
September 9, 2013 at 10:03
I want this NOW!
John mul-ti-pass
September 9, 2013 at 10:30
Me first!
RinceThisandFINALLYlvUP!
September 9, 2013 at 10:33
You get in line!
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
September 9, 2013 at 10:33
You guys will have to wait till I play it first!
RinceThisandFINALLYlvUP!
September 9, 2013 at 10:35
NEVA!
John mul-ti-pass
September 9, 2013 at 10:39
Sadly I have to, because the PC version is coming out later.
But I’ll still fight you guys just because I’m jealous.
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 9, 2013 at 10:52
No no no don’t mention the non-existent PC version that we all want.
You’re fighting them because the struggle will make them appreciate it more. Your selflessness is an example of us all.
John mul-ti-pass
September 9, 2013 at 11:03
I’m no hero, I’m just a man.
Mateo Godlike
September 10, 2013 at 00:55
The pirate bay Plunder the seas you shall have it first.
That Tall Twit
September 9, 2013 at 10:05
Would be quite horrific if GTA somehow does not do well after looking at that budget.
Admiral Chief of Rivia
September 9, 2013 at 10:08
LOL
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 9, 2013 at 10:11
I’m sure it will, I’d love to know how many preorders been made.
Warren Lombard
September 9, 2013 at 10:30
My thoughts exactly!
taoisms
September 9, 2013 at 18:43
Over 3 million in the US alone.
Sean Baird
September 12, 2013 at 19:28
It’s already been confirmed that the game has already made that money back with preorders alone.
Colin
September 9, 2013 at 11:44
I read they’ve already made back that money on pre orders alone.
rick
September 9, 2013 at 14:53
0_0 oh my fucking god…
Vampyre Squirrel
September 10, 2013 at 10:38
Couldn’t have said it better myself
Beaker Brain
September 9, 2013 at 10:09
Like COD it will make its first Billion Dollars in 15 days and make more profit than AVATAR but the laymen people will still think that games are for nerdy teens.
I hope this game smashes all the records. Then we can finally feel that the industry has hammered the last nail into Hollywood.
Umar Final Fantasy 15 Hopeful
September 9, 2013 at 10:12
That would however open the doors for more games and companies to fail
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 9, 2013 at 10:18
That’s inevitable, and a normal part of business. I’m more worried about some peanuts simplistically thinking that they’ll achieve the same by copying it & falling flat on their faces.
Umar Final Fantasy 15 Hopeful
September 9, 2013 at 10:44
The COD effect? once the next big thing hits then it’s going to be a template
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 9, 2013 at 10:58
Exactly.
justerthought
September 9, 2013 at 14:31
COD = Old school FPS multiplayer. A dinosaur running out of steam.
Next gen will be all about huge breathing open world games, FPS and 3rd person, single player and multiplayer. Once the hardware makes a genre viable, that is where the majority games eventually go. It’s like when 3D environments came along with Doom and we ended up with most games running a 3D environment. Linear small maps are on the way out. Open world is the future now. COD will only survive if it goes open world like Destiny.
ttoommtt
September 9, 2013 at 20:39
LOL, IT THE PS4 CANT EVEN HANDLE BATTLEFIELD 4 ON 1080p 30 FPS.
Maybe it can handle call of duty dog but even my 5 year old pc can lOl 😛
John mul-ti-pass
September 9, 2013 at 10:31
Yes! It must.
Though, disregarding how much it cost to make, I’m waiting for the PC version because the console version is too expensive.
Beaker Brain
September 9, 2013 at 10:37
I have to admit that I am more than willing to pay R999 for the game knowing the track record of Rockstars quality.
But, then games with very low budgets are not allowed to hit retail at R599.
The film industry do not charge extra for AAA movies so I do not see why Rockstar games like Max Payne sold for R699.
I suppose this beast is the odd exception. 6 years in the making and 9 days left 🙂
John mul-ti-pass
September 9, 2013 at 10:39
You have a point. But in the end I’ll be paying above average for a pc game also.
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 9, 2013 at 11:03
I don’t buy the quality argument at all from publishers. There’s no way they can say beforehand they’re charging more for the game because it’s better quality, when the only way to judge the quality is to play it first.
A:CM is still fresh in the mind.
John mul-ti-pass
September 9, 2013 at 11:04
Quite so. It’s my reason to avoid pre-orders at this stage.
justerthought
September 9, 2013 at 15:01
I don’t think Rocktar have a problem with quality. They always deliver a quality product. They hit a slight issue relating to a lack of fun in GTAIV, but they know what they did wrong and have since fixed it with RDR. They only have to look at all their previous GTA games (GTA SA), Skyrim, Just Cause 2 and Far Cry 3 for inspiration about open world fun mechanics. I think we are safe to pre-order GTAV. It’s going to raise the bar significantly.
John mul-ti-pass
September 9, 2013 at 15:11
I’m not talking that linear. I mean this for most games. I think with AAA sandbox games it’s usually a safe bet.
justerthought
September 22, 2013 at 12:56
XB1 will suffer with non linear games such as open world because the RAM has to be continually flushed and rapidly filled with new streaming content on the fly, such as high res textures. The PS4’s fast GDDR5 RAM will be the decider here. That is why it is such a big deal.
The XB1 RAM is too slow and the eSRAM is too small. The eSRAM is only designed for rapid transmission of small data chunks between CPU and GPU. It cannot help fill the slow RAM any faster than its technical speed limit.
justerthought
September 9, 2013 at 14:10
lol COD is for nerdy teens. Xbox live is full of them. It’s all the nerdy teens that make the first billion dollars so your statement proves nothing. You and your clan mates may be mature guys but you are in the minority. The more mature players have moved on to games with more depth. Continually spawning into a map trying to maintain a high kill/death ratio is so primitive and boring after a while.
Beaker Brain
September 9, 2013 at 14:14
hear hear. Gamers still have a long way to go to prove the Laymen wrong.
Umar Final Fantasy 15 Hopeful
September 9, 2013 at 10:11
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/7985-Time-To-Get-Paid
Guest
September 9, 2013 at 10:29
I would like to know what the pre-order amount adds up to already…
Khulani Ndlovu
September 9, 2013 at 10:30
With that budget i’m pretty sure the turnover is going to trickle, everybody is excited & with good marketing its going to sell like hot cakes, 😉
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 9, 2013 at 11:00
Everyone’s excited for it, even me, and I can’t play it lol
Vampyre Squirrel
September 10, 2013 at 10:46
The marketing on GTAV has been pretty awesome, except for that “official trailer” which was a minute of what we already knew.
I get the feeling we’re going to battle to find copies of GTAV for all platforms… even if it ever gets released for PC… which I hope it does for @disqus_DoEH3TsffU:disqus or he’d go nuts
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
September 9, 2013 at 10:41
Maybe.. I should have pre-ordered lol!
Rock789
September 9, 2013 at 10:51
Here comes the moneeeeyyyyyy! 🙂
James Simms
September 9, 2013 at 21:52
Shane would be proud.
Vampyre Squirrel
September 10, 2013 at 10:46
nope… there goes the moneyyyyy! 😛
Mike
September 9, 2013 at 11:10
For those asking
According to this article the pre-orders are at 2.6m. That was from 3 September.
http://vr-zone.com/articles/gta-v-pre-orders-cod-ghosts-battlefield-4-every-major-platform-combined/54727.html
taoisms
September 9, 2013 at 18:24
That article is based off of old data. The total amount of GTA V pre-orders is closer to about 4.5 – 5.2 million worldwide.
James Simms
September 9, 2013 at 21:52
5.2 multiplied by 60 dollars (not accurate at all though with the special, collectors editions coming out at higher price points). I’d say they are on track to not only making their money back but a tidy little profit to boot. I’ll be double dipping if it comes to PC.
taoisms
September 10, 2013 at 00:15
They already made the money back on pre-orders reports are stating… They’re headed towards the biggest release of all time.
James Simms
September 10, 2013 at 01:33
wow! Good on Rockstar. They have yet to leave me disappointed with a purchase of their games.
CypherGate
September 9, 2013 at 11:47
They better rake in the cash otherwise they going to go bust with such a high risk!
Hesperus Phosphorus
September 9, 2013 at 13:13
That’s quite a budget. That said, a $250 million turnover breaks even – and that’s not much compared to how it should do. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a billion dollar profit in this one.
Ryanza
September 9, 2013 at 13:27
The reason why Rockstar can spend so much on making and promoting the GTA games is because people keep on buying the games.
You buy the console versions then the PC versions, then you sell the games and then you just buy it again and again as the years go on.
But with these big corps with their DRM and online DRM and trying to block second hand sales, you will find less people repurchasing the good games, which means in years to come Rockstar wont be able to spend so much money on GTA and only bank on day 1 sales, like Call of Duty does.
GTA every year with no chance of improvements = the future of gaming.
Support DRM free!
justerthought
September 9, 2013 at 13:55
Why does he say ‘seriously people?’ when referring to the Tangled budget. It sounds smug and ignorant. Tangled is one of the best movies ever made. Right up there with Toy Story 3 in the computer animated category. Such perfection does not come cheap. If GTAV can match that quality of production, storytelling, characterisation and custom music soundtrack, I’ll be very happy.
taoisms
September 9, 2013 at 18:22
Tangled one of the best movies ever made? I think that’s a little bit of an exaggeration.
justerthought
September 22, 2013 at 12:46
If you like computer animated movies, it’s right up there. Top quality. The characters and script are great, and the music is awesome. Maybe you don’t like fairy tales or computer animated movies. You are not forced to agree with me.
taoisms
September 22, 2013 at 19:13
I do like computer animated movies, but to say Tangled is one of the best ever… That’s just wrong.
justerthought
September 26, 2013 at 16:37
I gave you plenty of reasons why Tangled it’s one of the best movies. You have given me zero reasons why you disagree, so I will assume it’s just something you personally don’t like. A bit like saying classical or jazz music is crap because you don’t like it.
Tangled and gta lover
September 9, 2013 at 14:37
tangled is boss like gta v
Jeremy Caleb Simpson
September 9, 2013 at 14:50
6 more days for me and it comes home
Graeme
September 9, 2013 at 17:45
Counting down the days as well.
Ash
September 10, 2013 at 15:08
Thank god I live in New Zealand 5days left
Fireprufe15
September 10, 2013 at 18:25
How they didn’t manage to put a PC version somewhere in that number is something I will never understand. Meh, if they don’t want my money I’m okay with that.
GTA5-TV
September 12, 2013 at 12:13
The $266 million budget for GTA V is quite large. It’s official that this installment is not only the most expensive video game ever made, but it has also surpassed film making budgets for top Hollywood movies. I think Rockstar will easily earn back the investment in a couple of months or so. In fact, pre-order sales have already hit 2.5 million in the U.S alone.