The big budgets behind blockbuster video games

COMING from such humble beginnings - just a ball bouncing off two white lines - video games are now a mega-industry, costing more to produce than blockbuster Hollywood movies and covering just as many billboards with their ads.

One of this year’s most anticipated gaming titles, Destiny, is set to become the most expensive video game ever with a budget of $500 million.

This easily surpasses the most expensive film ever made, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End which even when adjusted for inflation, still cost $160 million less.

So where does all that money go?

The video game industry isn’t exactly transparent when it comes to budgets. Even some developers have no idea what the budget is for the games they are working on.

Publishers rarely release any information on their budget, but on the odd chance some numbers are leaked, it’s usually the marketing side of the game where most of the money is spent.

Take Destiny for example - out of its $500 million budget, roughly $360 million of that is set aside for marketing.

That’s more money spent just on marketing than on the production of any movie ever produced.

The other $140-million is spent on the development and distribution of the game, which has become a lot more expensive lately with highly detailed graphics and certain production houses going into the real world and scanning real-life environments into the game.

With recent AAA games using Hollywood actors like Kevin Spacey, Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Christopher Walken to provide character voices, thosing casting bills become pretty pricey.

Let’s also not forget those epic soundtracks from big name composers like Hans Zimmer, whose work you might know from other productions like The Lion King,Gladiator and The Dark Knight.

The most expensive games ever

1. Destiny (2014) - $500 million

2. Grand Theft Auto V (2013) - $265 million

3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) - $200 million

4. Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011) - at least $200 million (development budget is known, but not marketing)

5. Final Fantasy VII (1997) - $145 million

Like Hollywood though, not all games are made with massive budgets, with independent games having smaller budgets and even games that are made for next to nothing that can prove to be a massive hit (Flappy Bird, anyone?).