Far Cry 6 - soap opera continues, this time in Cuba

[Drakortha]

i wouldn't be so catastrophic, it's going to be another fc3 clone, like 4, 5, the '80s spin off and that other one with the cavemen.

Those were all varying degrees of shit.

Far Cry 2 is the only sequel worth a damn because it actually brought some interesting and innovating features to the game. Everything since has been striped back, cookie cutter bullshit with crafting. Ubisoft can fuck off with their gazillion sequels that bring nothing new to the table. It's another Assassins Creed.

We've come all the way to number 6 and what do we get? Jetpacks and puppies? Wow, FC6 is just OOZING with ambition.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

i've seen worse.

 

[Lemming42]

Literally the best stealth shooters being made today. The only real problem with any of them is Ubi's forced open world shit (radio towers in FC3, the fucking terrible progression meters in FC5, etc).

 

[Drakortha]

Literally the best stealth shooters being made today. The only real problem with any of them is Ubi's forced open world shit (radio towers in FC3, the fucking terrible progression meters in FC5, etc).

Far Cry 6 will bring together the "best features" of FC3 and FC5. I hope that stealth shooting is worth it to you and you really love FarCry.

 

[Tacgnol]

The nu-Far Cry games usually provide a few hours of entertainment before they become endlessly repetitive.

I'll probably end up picking this one up on a massive sale in a few years time. Who knows, if I'm bored enough I might even end up completing it.

 

[Lemming42]

Literally the best stealth shooters being made today. The only real problem with any of them is Ubi's forced open world shit (radio towers in FC3, the fucking terrible progression meters in FC5, etc).

Far Cry 6 will bring together the "best features" of FC3 and FC5. I hope that stealth shooting is worth it to you and you really love FarCry.

They already wisely got rid of the radio towers after FC3. Hopefully they learn from FC5's progression meter mistake - they already took it out in New Dawn, I think?

 

[Tacgnol]

Literally the best stealth shooters being made today. The only real problem with any of them is Ubi's forced open world shit (radio towers in FC3, the fucking terrible progression meters in FC5, etc).

Far Cry 6 will bring together the "best features" of FC3 and FC5. I hope that stealth shooting is worth it to you and you really love FarCry.

They already wisely got rid of the radio towers after FC3. Hopefully they learn from FC5's progression meter mistake - they already took it out in New Dawn, I think?

I believe so. I don't really remember much of new dawn, but I seem to remember you could pretty much rush the main story line as soon as you wanted.

 

[JarlFrank]

That being said, AAA game development began in the 2000s with the cinematic mega-blockbuster PC titles like Diablo 2, Half-Life 2 and Call of Duty.

The anemic 3D GPUs of the 90s didn't really support AAA gaming as we know it.

LMAO neither Diablo 2 nor Half Life 2 were "cinematic", unless you count Diablo 2's cutscenes (which were entirely skippable and came in video files, rather than being played in-engine interrupting the gameplay) and Half Life 2's awkward throw-stuff-at-people's-heads-while-they-talk-to-you scenes. Its main gimmick was the revolutionary physics engine and the gravity gun. Neither game has anything in common with modern "cinematic" experiences, or with modern open worlds that have hundreds of copypasta busywork activities in them.

AAA of the 90s was stuff like Doom, Quake, the Build engine games, Tomb Raider, Age of Empires 2, etc.
Yes, they didn't have the inflated budgets and massive development teams that modern AAA trash does, but they were still the highest production value games of their time. You asked if there was ever a time when I liked contemporary AAA productions.
Quake is one of my favorite games. I also love the Tomb Raider series very much. Both games were made in the 90s and had some of the highest production values on the market, with revolutionary 3D engines and good gameplay.
So yes, back in the 90s, I did enjoy the biggest budget mainstream releases.

I still enjoy the occasional AAA game but their game design has devolved so fucking hard. 90s and early 00s game design was objectively superior to modern AAA design.

 

[anvi]

Hail to the king baby.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

AAA of the 90s was stuff like Doom, Quake, the Build engine games, Tomb Raider, Age of Empires 2, etc.

i must disagree. id was a garage crew and doom was distributed as shareware, tomb raider was an experiment, aoe was just another rts among millions. early '90s big shots were people like sierra and lucasfilm, mainly adventures. those were very damn expensive games to make, even more with the advent of the cd which they had no trouble filling instantly.

 

[Atlantico]

I still enjoy the occasional AAA game but their game design has devolved so fucking hard. 90s and early 00s game design was objectively superior to modern AAA design.

If by that you mean:

I still enjoy the occasional game made with the highest contemporary production value, but the game design has devolved so fucking hard. 90s and early 00s game design was objectively superior to modern contemporary highest production value game design.

Then yes of course. That's a given. Who was arguing against that?

Games used to be better, the best games and the most expensive games used to be better. Much better, than what we can expect now. That has literally nothing to do with AAA gaming.

LMAO neither Diablo 2 nor Half Life 2 were "cinematic", unless you count Diablo 2's cutscenes (which were entirely skippable and came in video files, rather than being played in-engine interrupting the gameplay) and Half Life 2's awkward throw-stuff-at-people's-heads-while-they-talk-to-you scenes. Its main gimmick was the revolutionary physics engine and the gravity gun. Neither game has anything in common with modern "cinematic" experiences, or with modern open worlds that have hundreds of copypasta busywork activities in them.

Did you just write LMAO?

Yes, I count D2's cutscenes and I count HL2's in-engine cutscenes as cinematic. They don't hold up terribly well today, but that's what they were going for. Production values and polish usually only reserved for motion pictures.

With the budget to match.

AAA of the 90s was stuff like Doom, Quake, the Build engine games, Tomb Raider, Age of Empires 2, etc.

Even though MadMaxHellfire overestimates the cost of Monkey Island 2, at least he has the right idea - just the wrong conclusion. ME2 wasn't that expensive to make.

The Dig was a magnitude more expensive than ME2, and nobody would describe that as AAA.

LucasArts was never a major studio with EA or Activision resources to throw around.

Quake is one of my favorite games. I also love the Tomb Raider series very much. Both games were made in the 90s and had some of the highest production values on the market, with revolutionary 3D engines and good gameplay.
So yes, back in the 90s, I did enjoy the biggest budget mainstream releases.

Again, that's not AAA. You're presenting AAA==highest production value games on the market at the time. That isn't what AAA means. The term is as derogatory as it is exclusionary.

According to your definition then, Kings Quest II a AAA game, because it was made by two people in a garage over the span of a month, because it has 10x the budget of the usual game developed by one person in a shoebox over the span of a weekend.

That's not AAA, that's just "the most expensive game made at the time".

When games started to cost tens of millions of dollars to develop and were only possible through major publishers, that's when we entered the era of AAA gaming.

Far Cry 6 is a AAA game, not because it's one of the most expensive games of the year, but because it's so expensive, the development of such a game is simply not possible without the financial backings of multi-national corporations.

That's AAA. That's not Doom, that's not Quake, that's not Tomb Raider (90s)

Games used to be better. AAA games always sucked.

 

[Tyranicon]

How to make Far Cry better without spending that much money:

- You're a mercenary now
- No linear story sections
- You can take on contracts to make money
- You can build a mercenary company, or go solo
- Can take a mercenary squad of up to x (probably at least 4), with a reserve pool
- Mercenaries can be injured and need recovery time a la nuXCOM
- Steal gameplay elements from Battle Brothers but apply it to a modern setting

Profit.

 

[anvi]

That would be the first Far Cry game I bought since 2004.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Far Cry 2 is the only sequel worth a damn because it actually brought some interesting and innovating features to the game. Everything since has been striped back, cookie cutter bullshit with crafting. Ubisoft can fuck off with their gazillion sequels that bring nothing new to the table. It's another Assassins Creed.

Ah, yes, the game with respawning checkpoints, the piss-poor jamming mechanics and malaria. Yeah, Far Cry 2 is so much better than its sequels.

Even though MadMaxHellfire overestimates the cost of Monkey Island 2, at least he has the right idea - just the wrong conclusion. ME2 wasn't that expensive to make.

The Dig was a magnitude more expensive than ME2, and nobody would describe that as AAA.

LucasArts was never a major studio with EA or Activision resources to throw around.

To put a price tag somewhere. Phantasmagoria cost 4.5 million in '95, and if I'm not mistaken, that's one of the more expensive adventure titles. Most big budget films around that time cost at least 20 million. There is a comparable video game title from that time. Final Fantasy VII, which was 40 million, before advertising.

 

[Atlantico]

Most big budget films around that time cost at least 20 million

1995-1997 AAA movies like Bravehart to Fifth Element cost 70-100 million USD to make.

Modestly budgeted movies, like comedies, e.g. Get Shorty, were around 30-40 million USD.

https://www.techspot.com/article/771-cost-of-making-a-game/

Here are some interesting numbers, not 100% reliable, but for what it's worth:

Possible Price Tags for 115 Games, from E.T. to Watch Dogs
Please note: These figures are not adjusted for inflation. Also, development or marketing costs does not represent the total cost of the game. Non-development or marketing costs have been labeled.

1982

E.T. - $23 million (licensing) - In Master of the Game — a 1994 biography about the late Steve Ross, then-CEO of Atari's then-parent company Warner Communications — Skip Paul, an Atari executive at the time, told author Connie Bruck the company spent $23 million to secure the license for the infamous bomb.

Frogger - $5 million (marketing) - In an early 1984 New York Times piece about the status of the gaming industry, Jerry Thompson, then an executive at Parker Brothers, said marketing costs for the Atari 2600 version of this arcade hit were $5 million.

1983

Dragon's Lair - $3 million - According to Jamie Russell's book Generation Xbox, the handdrawn animation for this laserdisc game cost $1.3 million and the total cost of creating the game and cabinet amounted to $3 million.

1992

Ultima VII: The Black Gate - $1 million - In a 1992 interview, Richard Garriott told University of Texas student publication The Daily Texan the seventh entry in the famed RPG series cost $1 million to develop.

1993

Ground Zero: Texas - $3 million - A 1994 Chicago Tribune report on interactive movie games claimed Sony Imagesoft's FMV shooter for the Sega CD had a $3 million production budget.

1994

Mortal Kombat II - $10 million (marketing) - According to the New York Times, Acclaim spent more than $10 million marketing this fighting game sequel.

Wing Commander III - $5 million: The third entry in the Origin space franchise had a budget of almost $5 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

1995

Full Throttle - $1.5 million - While tweeting about the record-breaking Double Fine adventure game Kickstarter, Tim Schafer revealed that his 1995 biker adventure game had a $1.5 million budget.

Twisted Metal - $0.8 million - In an interview with IGN, David Jaffe claimed his first car combat game cost $800,000 to develop.

1996

Crash Bandicoot - $1.7 million - During a 2004 Australian Games Developer Conference presentation, Naughty Dog cofounder Jason Rubin said the development budget for their signature PlayStation platformer was $1.7 million.

Wing Commander IV - $10 million - A 1996 Texas Monthly profile claimed the space combat sequel had a $10 million budget. Of that $10 million, $8.5 million was spent on live-action video sequences, according to Jamie Russell's Generation Xbox.

1997

Crash Bandicoot 2 - $2 million - Jason Rubin claimed the first Crash sequel cost $2 million.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee - $2.5 million - A 1998 Forbes article about Oddworld Inhabitants pegged development costs of the company's first game at $2.5 million.

PaRappa the Rapper - ¥90 million - A 2013 Edge magazine piece about the creation of the seminal rhythm game said the budget was "around 90 million [yen]."

Riven - $20 million - According to a 1997 BusinessWeek report, the Myst sequel cost $10 million to develop and an additional $10 million to market, suggesting a total spend of around $20 million on the followup to the then-bestselling PC game of all-time.

1998

Grim Fandango - $3 million - In another tweet about the Double Fine adventure game Kickstarter, Tim Schafer said his last title for LucasArts cost $3 million.

Thief: The Dark Project - $3 million - A Game Developer postmortem from lead programmer Tom Leondard said the development budget on the stealth classic was $3 million.

The X-Files Game - $6 million - On his resume, a former executive at X-Files Game developer HyperBole Studios claims the FMV adventure game had a $6 million development budget.

1999

Crash Team Racing - $2.4 million - Jason Rubin said $2.4 million was spent developing this kart racer, which was Naughty Dog's last Crash Bandicoot game.

EverQuest - $3 million - In an interview with PC Zone, EverQuest II producer Andy Sites claimed the development budget on the first game was $3 million.

Gabriel Knight 3 - $4.2 million - In a Gamasutra postmortem, the project's technical lead Scott Bilas revealed that the development spend on the adventure game sequel was $4.2 million.

Resident Evil 2 $1 million - Development costs on Angel Studios' Nintendo 64 port of the horror sequel were $1 million, according to a Game Developer postmortem.

Shenmue - $47 million - In a GDC 2011 presentation, Yu Suzuki said the infamously expensive game's total cost was $47 million, not $70 million as commonly reported.

System Shock 2 - $1.7 million - According to a Game Developer postmortem by Irrational cofounder Jon Chey, the sci-fi horror sequel's budget was $1.7 million.

Unreal Tournament - $2 million - In his Game Developer postmortem, former Epic Games programmer Brandon Reinhart said the multiplayer shooter's development budget was $2 million.

2001

Black & White $5.7 million - Peter Molyneux's Game Developer postmortem for the game said the god game cost $5.7 million to develop.

Dark Age of Camelot - $3.1 million - Mythic cofounder Mark Jacobs told Gamasutra in 2008 the fantasy MMO cost $2.5 million to develop and an additional $650,000 to market, indicating a combined launch spend around $3.1 million.

Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 - $4 million (marketing) - In a press release, publisher Acclaim revealed that the extreme sports sequel had a marketing budget of $4 million.

Jak and Daxter - $14 million - Jason Rubin said Naughty Dog's followup to Crash Bandicoot cost $14 million to develop.

2002

Freedom Force - $2 million - Ken Levine told an MIT audience the retro superhero strategy game cost $2 million to develop.

Hitman 2 - €3.5 million - In an article from a Danish governmental trade council's English-language publication, IO Interactive managing director Janos Flösser said the Hitman sequel had a development cost of 3.5 million euros.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - $20 million - The first console game based on Peter Jackson's famed film adaptation had a $20 million budget, according to a former Stormfront Studios technical director.

NFL 2K3 - $15 million - Then-Sega COO Peter Moore told The Wall Street Journal the budget for the company's second multiplatform football game was about $15 million.

2003

Enter the Matrix - $67 million - TheLos Angeles Times reported that development costs on this game tie-in were $20 million, a figure the paper said "[did not include] marketing expenses or the cost of the extra hour of movie footage [included in the game]." Atari also paid $47 million to acquire The Matrix license and developer Shiny Entertainment from Interplay, who originally owned both the license and developer.

Jak II - $15 million - Development costs on this divisive gritty, open-world sequel were $15 million, according to Jason Rubin.

Toontown Online - $18 million - A former Disney software engineer claims this now-shuttered kids MMO cost $18 million.

Uru: Ages Beyond Myst - $12 million - The cost of the fourth Myst game was more than $12 million, according to an Associated Press report.

2004

Call of Duty: Finest Hour - $8.5 million - The first Call of Duty console game's development contract, released as part of a lawsuit between developer Spark Unlimited and Activision, pegged development costs for the game at $8.5 million.

City of Heroes - $7 million - A 2004 Forbes profile of then-developer Cryptic Studios claimed the development cost of the superhero MMO was $7 million, and publisher NCSoft budgeted $18 million for annual marketing, maintenance and support costs.

Driv3r - $34 million - Bruno Bonnell, then-chairman of publisher Atari, told The Wall Street Journal marketing and development budgets for the tepidly received open-world game were both around $17 million, bringing total spend to around $34 million.

Half-Life 2 $40 million - In a 2004 interview, Gabe Newell admitted the game's development cost in excess of $40 million.

Halo 2 - under $20 million - A spokesperson for Microsoft told The Wall Street Journal development costs on Bungie's sequel were under $20 million.

Jak 3 - $10 million - Jason Rubin's presentation said the last game of Naughty Dog's trilogy, produced in half the time of its predecessors, cost $10 million to develop.

World of Warcraft - $200 million - In a September 2008 analyst conference call, Blizzard disclosed that the cost of four years of post-launch upkeep on the blockbuster MMO was $200 million.

2005

Advent Rising - $4 million - In a story about the game, MTV reported that Chair Entertainment spent $4 million developing their sci-fi epic.

Call of Duty 2 - $14.5 million - During a speech at the 2005 Montreal International Game Summit, Infinity Ward cofounder Grant Collier revealed that the World War II shooter sequel and next-gen launch title cost $14.5 million to develop.

Guild Wars - $20-30 million - ArenaNet cofounder Jeff Strain told the Seattle Times his company spent between $20 million and $30 million developing their first MMO.

Guitar Hero - $1.7 million - In a recent profile of Harmonix, BostonInno, a Boston tech/startup blog, claimed the first Guitar Hero's development budget was $1.7 million.

Jak X - $10 million - Jason Rubin claimed Naughty Dog's final Jak and Daxter game, produced shortly after he left Naughty Dog, cost $10 million to develop.

King Kong - $20 million - Michel Ancel's movie tie-in had a budget over $20 million, according to a New York Times report about the game.

The Matrix Online - $8.5 million - The marketing and PR spend on this now-defunct licensed online game was more than $8.5 million, according to a former Warner Bros. marketing manager.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks - $20 million - The former studio head and founder of developer Midway Studios Los Angeles (previously Paradox Development) said on her resume this fighting game spinoff had a development budget of $20 million.

Quake 4 - $15 million - In a 2005 profile of developer Raven Software, the Wisconsin State Journal—a local Madison, Wisconsin newspaper—reported that the shooter sequel cost around $15 million to develop.

Psychonauts - $11.8 million - Caroline Esmurdoc, then-COO of Double Fine, claimed in a Game Developer postmortem the company's literally mind-bending platformer had a development budget of $11.8 million.

2006

Anno 1701 - €8 million - A press release from developer Sunflowers pegged development costs of the strategy game at eight million euros.

Empire Earth III - $10 million - A former Mad Doc Software producer said the strategy sequel cost $10 million to develop.

Gears of War - $10 million - During a speech at the London Games Summit, Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games, said development costs on the game were "around $10 million."

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - $18 million - The first Tom Clancy title for HD consoles cost $18 million, according to the biography of a North Carolinian news anchor and actress who appeared in the game.

Lost Planet - $40 million - According to a 2006 Forbes report, marketing and development budgets on Capcom's game were both $20 million, pegging total spend around $40 million.

Red Steel - €10 million - A 2006 radio story about developers at Ubisoft's headquarters in Paris on French news station France Info revealed that the Wii launch title's development budget was 10 million euros.

Scarface: The World is Yours - $2.5 million (audio) - The audio budget alone on the open-world crime game was $2.5 million, according to a Gamasutra postmortem by the project's audio director, Rob Bridgett.

Test Drive Unlimited - €15 million - The development budget for this open-world racing title was 15 million euros, according to a former Eden Games project manager.

Unreal Engine 3 - $40 million - In a CNNMoney column about Unreal Engine 3, journalist Chris Morris reported that the cost of development of Epic's third engine was more than $40 million.

2007

Age of Conan - kr200 million - Norwegian business publication Dagens Næringsliv reported that Funcom's fantasy MMO cost in excess of 200 million Norwegian kroner.

BioShock - $15 million - Irrational Games' Ken Levine claimed in an MIT Q&A session that development costs on the dystopian first-person game were $15 million.

Black College Football Experience - $9 million - According to a former executive at now-defunct developer Nerjyzed Entertainment, the budget on this football simulation was $9 million.

Crackdown - $20 million - David Jones, former head of now-defunct developer Realtime Worlds, told GamesIndustry.biz the cult open-world game had a development budget of around $20 million.

Crysis - €15 million - At the 2008 Games Convention Developers Conference in Germany, Cevat Yerli said the PC-only shooter had a development budget of 15 million euros.

Halo MMO - $90 million - In an interview with IncGamers, Dusty Monk—a former Ensemble Studios engineer—claimed the studio's never released Halo MMO (codenamed "Titan") had a project budget of $90 million.

Heavenly Sword - $20 million - A former Sony Computer Entertainment Europe senior producer pegged Ninja Theory's cinematic action title at a development cost of $20 million.

Marathon 2: Durandal - $0.3 million - Development costs on the Xbox Live Arcade port of Bungie's 1995 FPS sequel were $300,000, according to a Gamasutra postmortem.

Rock Band - $20 million - According to BostonInno, the development budget on the first Rock Band was $20 million.

Strangehold - $30 million - In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, former Midway Europe managing director Martin Spiess said the John Woo action game "cost around $30 million."

Stuntman: Ignition - $20 million - A former Paradigm Entertainment designer said the project's development budget was $20 million.

2008

Braid - $0.2 million - During a GDC presentation, Jonathan Blow said he spent $200,000 on development of his acclaimed deconstructive puzzler.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - $20 million (marketing) - The game tie-in's marketing campaign cost $20 million, according to a former Disney special projects manager.

Gears of War 2 - $12 million - The shooter sequel cost $12 million to develop, according to a presentation Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney gave at a 2009 computer graphics conference.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider - $15 million - According to a Game Developer postmortem, Sega spent $15 million on development costs for Secret Level's HD Sega IP reboot.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - $5 million (marketing) - A former RedOctane marketing associate said it cost $5 million to market this single-artist music title.

Left 4 Dead - $11 million (marketing) - Valve told Edge Online the company's marketing budget for the zombie game was $11 million.

The Witcher - zł20 million - During a GDC 2012 presentation, CD Projekt RED cofounder Marcin Iwiński said the PC-only RPG had a $2 million marketing budget. And according to the site of CD Projekt RED's parent company, the development budget on the title was almost 20 million zloty.

2009

The Beatles: Rock Band - $20 million (marketing) - Advertising Age said the marketing spend on Harmonix's single-artist title was $20 million.

Brütal Legend - $24 million - In a Game Developer postmortem, Caroline Esmurdoc said Double Fine's heavy metal action game cost $24 million to develop.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - $200 million - In 2009 article on the game's launch, Ben Fritz, then a reporter at the Los Angeles Times, reported that the game had a production budget between $40 million and $50 million, and a total launch cost — including global distribution and marketing — of $200 million.

Fortress - $16.5 million - A 2011 report in Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet claimed the contract for Grin's ill-fated Final Fantasy XII spinoff specified a $16.5 million development budget for the game.

Free Realms - $20-30 million - Development costs on Sony Online Entertainment's tween-friendly MMO were between $20 million and $30 million, according to an NBC News report on online games targeting younger audiences.

Ghostbusters - $15-20 million - A local newspaper report on the game from the Fort Worth Star Telegram pegged development costs for Terminal Reality's next-gen SKUs as being between $15 million and $20 million.

Left 4 Dead 2 - $25 million (marketing) - Valve's Doug Lombardi said the zombie sequel's advertising campaign cost $25 million.

Star Wars: Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance - $15 million - This Star Wars cartoon tie-in cost $15 million to develop, according to a former Krome Studios project director.

2010

God of War III - $44 million - John Hight, then-director of product development at Sony Santa Monica, told Giant Bomb Kratos' first outing on HD consoles had a $44 million development budget.

Gran Turismo 5 - $60 million - In an interview with Autoweek, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi said the fifth entry in the racing franchise cost $60 million to develop.

Heavy Rain - €40 million - At the Polish gaming industry conference, Quantic Dream CEO Guillaume de Fondaumiere said the company's first title for Sony cost 16.7 million euros to develop and total spend on the game amounted to somewhere around 40 million euros.

Stargate Worlds - $25 million - Development costs on this unreleased license-based online game were more than $25 million, according to a former Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment producer.

2011

Allods Online - $12 million - According to a press release, development costs on this Russian MMORPG were $12 million, allegedly making it the most expensive game development project in Russian history.

Battlefield 3 - $2.75 million (Facebook marketing) - In Facebook's first investor call, COO Sheryl Sandberg said publisher Electronic Arts spent $2.75 million on Facebook ads alone for the shooter sequel.

Call of Duty: Elite - $50 million - On their resume, a former Activision vice president of digital operations for Call of Duty said the franchise's service component cost $50 million to "develop and launch."

Dead Space 2 - $5-10 million (marketing) - According to a document from the advertising industry Effie Awards, EA's media expenditures on the sci-fi horror sequel's "Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2" marketing campaign were between $5 million and $10 million.

Dead Island - zł40 million - Techland marketing director Pawel Kopinski told Polish newspaper Gazeta Prawna the development cost on the open-world zombie game was around 40 million zloty.

Homefront - $50 million - THQ's attempt to take on Call of Duty had a $50 million development budget, according to former Kaos Studios producer Dex Smither (Update: Link to his CV removed at his request; he subsequently confirmed the $50 million budget figure to Kotaku directly).

Real Racing 2 - $2 million - In an interview with a mobile game site, Firemint said it spent $2 million developing this mobile racing sim sequel.

Rift - $60-70 million - In an interview with Develop, former Trion Worlds CEO Lars Buttler said the development budget on Trion's first game was more than $50 million. And an Effie Awards document pegged the cost of the game's marketing campaign as being between $10 million to $20 million.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - $200 million - A story on the Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex blog said the science-fiction MMO had a development budget of "nearly $200 million."

Warhammer 40k: Dark Millenium Online - $30 million - Former THQ executive Danny Bilson told Eurogamer last year the publisher spent around $30 million on this licensed MMO before the title was cancelled.

The Witcher II - zł25 million - Marcin Iwiński said the marketing budget for the initial PC release of CD Projekt RED's RPG sequel was $5 million. And a recent story from Polish newspaper Gazeta Prawna pegged the game's development costs at 25 million zloty.

2012

DC Universe Online - $50 million - According to the Los Angeles Times, Sony Online Entertainment's superhero MMO had "a [development] cost of more than $50 million."

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier - €50 million - Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot revealed to Eurogamer that the company's total investment in the tactical military game was 50 million euros.

Papo & Yo - $1.5 million - While talking to Kotaku last year, Vander Caballero, cofounder of developer Minority Media, said the favela-set indie title cost $1.5 million.

The Secret World - $50 million - Costs on this MMO were in excess of $50 million, according to a former Funcom executive product manager.

Borderlands 2 - $30-35 million - In a 2012 1UP piece asking developers about game budgets, Gearbox's Randy Pitchford estimated that the RPG shooter cost between $30 million and $35 million. [Note: This entry was originally associated with the first Borderlands, but the author of the 1UP article informed us that the original article contained a typo. This budget is for Borderlands 2.]

2013

1666 - $35 million - The contract between Patrice Désilets and THQ, released as part of Désilets' lawsuit against Ubisoft, estimated development costs of $35 million for his Assassin's Creed followup.

Beyond: Two Souls - $27 million - According to French general interest weekly publication Le Figaro Magazine, the Quantic Dream drama's development budget was 20 million euros ($27 million).

Defiance - $70 million - A Wall Street Journal report claimed the game component of the game/television hybrid cost $70 million, a cost split evenly between Syfy and Trion Worlds. In comparison, the paper said the budget of the first season of the television show was $40 million.

Disney Infinity - $100 million - Citing persons close to the game's production, both The Wall Street Journal's Ben Fritz and Variety's Marc Graser reported that game development and toy production costs amounted to more than $100 million.

2014

Destiny - $140 million - The leaked initial development contract for the game authorized payments totaling up to $140 million to cover Bungie's development and limited marketing efforts (ViDocs and other marketing assets) prior to the game's beta. As the contract also specifies, Bungie's marketing costs — limited to $1 million — are separate from Activision's own marketing expenses on Destiny.

Watch Dogs - $68 million - Stéphane Decroix, an executive producer on the project at Ubisoft Montreal, told French business publication Challenges Ubisoft's contemporary open-world title has a development budget in excess of 50 million euros ($68 million).

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

so. much. shit.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Mr. Whité... whe is my 1657 Kg/L of quimikal weapons???

I'm sorry, but we dont ave it Mr. Gosto...

Im taking aweh your Steam account 'til you deliver da product Mr. Wight

 

[Lemming42]

Maybe I'm just dumb but the budgets of games never make sense to me. How the fuck did Shenmue and Half-Life 2 both cost over $40 million to make?!

 

[Ghulgothas]

Maybe I'm just dumb but the budgets of games never make sense to me. How the fuck did Shenmue and Half-Life 2 both cost over $40 million to make?!

Shenmue's production budget was also partially used for Shenmue II, they were both in production for a shared period of time. HL 2 was worked on for around five years, in which they created, developed, implemented and eventually threw away a shitload of unused assets, ideas and concepts. That physics engine was greased to the tune of a few cool mil.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Ubicuks didn't have the balls to made it a communist dictator. Fuck them. I want a game where I can throw communists from helicopters into the ocean.

We know he is one even if they're afraid of saying so

https://www.pcgamer.com/far-cry-6-isnt-a-political-statement-on-cuba-narrative-director-says/

 

[Drakortha]

Ah, yes, the game with respawning checkpoints, the piss-poor jamming mechanics and malaria. Yeah, Far Cry 2 is so much better than its sequels.

Far Cry 2 was a huge step up in comparison to what came before it. The developers actually gave a shit and tried to make a game that was better and more realistic.

No it's not perfect, but it's Far Cry 2's ambition that counts. The only ambition the sequels possess is to get that sweet pre-order money from yet another cookie-cutter cash grab. There is no passion or new ideas. Jetpacks and cute puppies don't count.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Ah, yes, the game with respawning checkpoints, the piss-poor jamming mechanics and malaria. Yeah, Far Cry 2 is so much better than its sequels.

Far Cry 2 was a huge step up in comparison to what came before it. The developers actually gave a shit and tried to make a game that was better and more realistic.

No it's not perfect, but it's Far Cry 2's ambition that counts. The only ambition the sequels possess is to get that sweet pre-order money from yet another cookie-cutter cash grab. There is no passion or new ideas. Jetpacks and cute puppies don't count.

Its been a while since I played it, but Far Cry is so far removed from what Far Cry 2 does that I think comparing the two is a strange thing to do. Far Cry 3 did something to temper the issues of 2, so I think you're selling it short. After is completely fair, they've found a niche and they're sticking to and damned if they'll change for a nuclear apocalypse.
But the appeal Far Cry has for me and I guess a lot of people is that we're shooting people in a nice, scenic location. Far Cry 2's southern African setting doesn't have the same zing as a nice tropical island or Montana.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

How to make Far Cry better without spending that much money:

- You're a mercenary now
- No linear story sections
- You can take on contracts to make money
- You can build a mercenary company, or go solo
- Can take a mercenary squad of up to x (probably at least 4), with a reserve pool
- Mercenaries can be injured and need recovery time a la nuXCOM
- Steal gameplay elements from Battle Brothers but apply it to a modern setting

Profit.

You mean Metal Gear Solid 5?
Because Far Cry is always been about you alone in some exotic micro-nation versus a small army of mooks

 

[Zer0wing]

How to make Far Cry better without spending that much money:

- You're a mercenary now
- No linear story sections
- You can take on contracts to make money
- You can build a mercenary company, or go solo
- Can take a mercenary squad of up to x (probably at least 4), with a reserve pool
- Mercenaries can be injured and need recovery time a la nuXCOM
- Steal gameplay elements from Battle Brothers but apply it to a modern setting

Profit.

jagged alliance 2 is twenty years old already.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Far Cry 2's southern African setting doesn't have the same zing as a nice tropical island or Montana.

Disagree.
Honestly this is one thing that always boggles my mind, the lack of games in a Africa type setting.
Specially for these sort of "military" games set in the modern day, this is literally the perfect setting and FC2 has the perfect premise.
"You are a mercenary in a war-torn African country." Done
This shit sells itself.
The player has all the context he needs and the potential for "mission" design is nearly limitless.
Yet out of the thousands of games of this ilk, you can count with your hands the number of games set in Africa:
- Resident Evil 5 (2009)
- Far Cry 2 (2008)
- Metal Gear Solid 5 (2017)
- some levels in Uncharted 4 (2016)