In a world where Bethesda’s upcoming game Starfield costs around $200 million, an older AAA game had already shattered everyone’s experience by becoming the most expensive game ever made. This title cannot be compared to any high-budget summer blockbusters, as it resides in its own league. With a high 9-figure budget, playing it truly feels like a next-gen experience.
This game is developed by none other than Rockstar Games. They clearly know how to positively disrupt the gaming industry. Each of their games comes with such insane innovations and just seeing the absurd amount of interactive freedom you get, it is no wonder they are the ones helping this amazing achievement.
Also read: Rockstar Allegedly Spent $1B on GTA 6, Players Can Enjoy a Feature Not Even Starfield Has
Red Dead Redemption 2: The most expensive game ever made with a budget of $540 million
Yes, you read that heading right. Red Dead Redemption 2‘s budget was around $540 million. Compare this game’s budget with James Cameron’s flick Avatar, you will get a difference of around $300 million as Avatar costs $237 million to make. At first, this might come as a shock to you that Starfield‘s budget is nothing compared to it and you may ask why a game like this costs this much to make. Well, you have to understand some background to grasp why Rockstar Games invested so much money into Red Dead Redemption 2.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Red Dead Redemption. This game over the years not only gained a huge cult following who always hoped for a new installment in this franchise, but something that Rockstar Games themselves worked on for 8 years before releasing.
This was the longest time they spent developing a game, only behind the development time for GTA 6. This also meant that all of the Rockstar Games subsidiaries, which are all over the world by the way, had to come together under one blanket studio called Rockstar Studios.
This means that over 2,000 employees of Rockstar Games were just working on creating Red Dead Redemption 2. Make sense why paying all of these employees will inflate your budget a lot.
Red Dead Redemption 2 pushed video game graphics and technology to a whole new level
Most players know that GTA 5 was hailed as one of the most profitable pieces of entertainment media ever made. So, it is safe to say that Rockstar Games had a few bucks to spare on Red Dead Redemption 2. The amount of detailed features in this game is really amazing.
There was an entirely separate team of developers who just focused on how horses act and move in Red Dead Redemption 2. This clearly showcases how obsessive they went into making sure that every single detail that players may not even recognize feels real.
Red Dead Redemption 2 also had some of the most realistic graphics in gaming. Like ever. Just by looking at the changing weather system, character animation, environmental design, and facial hair generation. They went all in when it came to advancing gaming technology.
The narrative and setting of Red Dead Redemption also played a huge factor in the budget. Rockstar Games created a story that makes you immersive into the world of the Wild Wild West and transports you to a really specific time period of the United States of America. This big scope akin to a cinematic movie, really changed how video games tell stories.
So, again, it makes sense why so much money was spent on this behemoth of a game. And even after 5 years of its initial release, Red Dead Redemption 2 can easily compete and even win against any of the modern AAA tiles when it comes to story, graphics, or visual aesthetics.
Source: CCI
