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[Bernoulli]

This information comes from a LinkedIn post by David Reitman, a well-reputed industry insider, and a former Accenture employee. David, while speaking to his followers, creates awareness of the enormity of Starfield and what type of a blockbuster project we have on the cards right now. Starfield is Bethesda’s latest, most ambitious project to date, so it’s no wonder that the studio would spend exorbitantly on it to realize its vision.

To put things into perspective, Red Dead Redemption 2, easily one of Rockstar Games’ best works up until now, has been developed with a budget that falls within the range of $170 million. And we all know the scale at which Red Dead 2 operates—the level of immersion exhibited by the Western action-adventure shooter is simply second to none, being the sequel to the first Red Dead Redemption.

It’s unclear as of yet how much Starfield will cost in total with all other parameters combined, but speculation says that the final figure should be somewhere around $300-400 million, considering the stature of the title at hand and the amount of time it’s been under development. Moreover, if the 500-member development team part is correct, costs are certain to be quite higher than $200 million.

Starfield Reportedly Had A Budget Of $200 Million And A 500-Member Dev Team

As per a credible industry person, Starfield had a budget of over $200 million, and a development team spanning 500 members.

exputer.com

 

[DeaDPo0L84]

Imagine Dragons is what ate up that last $200 million.

 

[Wildebeest]

I guess they spent that much to try to keep up with the unrealistic expectations that Baldur's Gate 3 inflicted on the RPG industry.

 

[GymWolf]

The budget for gta5 was like 265 mil, there is no way rdr2 was only 170, like NO WAY.

from wiki:

Analyst estimations place the game's combined development and marketing budget between US$370 million and US$540 million, which would make it one of the most expensive video games to develop.

This is if you ask to chatgpt

According to publicly available information, the budget for "Red Dead Redemption 2" was around $725 million USD. This includes development, marketing, and distribution costs.

Gta6 budget is over 2 billions so those numbers are not far from reality, thousands of people worked on rdr2.


Still, a big ass budget and probably way bigger than any sony game by far.

 

[German Hops]

Wow, that kind of money could buy me a ton of boxed lunches.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

It's been in full production for 8 years. It would be such a let down if this game isn't revolutionary

 

[Pelta88]

400 Million? That's close to the total budget of TLOU2 and Horizon Forbidden West combined.

Interesting.

 

[Bernoulli]

The budget for gta5 was like 265 mil, there is no way rdr2 was only 170.

from wiki:

Analyst estimations place the game's combined development and marketing budget between US$370 million and US$540 million, which would make it one of the most expensive video games to develop.

This is if you ask to chatgpt

According to publicly available information, the budget for "Red Dead Redemption 2" was around $725 million USD. This includes development, marketing, and distribution costs.

Gta6 budget is over 2 billions so those numbers are not far from reality, thousands of people worked on rdr2.


Still, a big ass budget and probably way bigger than any sony game by far.

The 200 and 170 for RDR2 i think is only the devs costs, without marketing and everything else

 

[Banjo64]

It's been in full production for 8 years. It would be such a let down if this game isn't revolutionary

I thought they spent 2 years working on their engine updates but I might be remembering wrong.

 

[gokurho]

Halo Infinite budget is $500M isnt it ?

 

[Bernkastel]

I guess they spent that much to try to keep up with the unrealistic expectations that Baldur's Gate 3 inflicted on the RPG industry.

Baldurs Gate 3 just came out. Don't tell me you actually think AAA games are made in months? Starfield was already playable from start to finish last year.

 

[GymWolf]

The 200 and 170 for RDR2 i think is only the devs costs, without marketing and everything else

Incredible to think that the other costs are as much if not more than what costed making the actual game.

400 mil for starfield are obviously not only for the game, i really don't see bethesda over spending rockstar with a team less than half the size.

 

[Belthazar]

It's been in full production for 8 years. It would be such a let down if this game isn't revolutionary

It won't be. Honestly, keep your expectation in check or it'll drain your enjoyment of the game.

 

[Bernkastel]

Halo Infinite budget is $500M isnt it ?

It was made up by Xbox Dynasty and denied by S Stinkles from 343i.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Dang.....this game better be a 10/10

 

[MMaRsu]

It's been in full production for 8 years. It would be such a let down if this game isn't revolutionary

Just because its been in dev for 8 years (2 of those COVID years where people had to wfh) doesnt mean it needs to be revolutionary.

 

[CrustyBritches]

It was originally $200 million, then Papa Phil put his giant balls on the table and dropped another $200 million of that MS money on the project.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I am sure there will be more than enough Gamepass subscribers to make back the cost....

 

[gokurho]

It was made up by Xbox Dynasty and denied by S Stinkles from 343i.

Thanks

 

[ReBurn]

Baldurs Gate 3 just came out. Don't tell me you actually think AAA games are made in months? Starfield was already playable from start to finish last year.

To be fair, Baldur's Gate 3 has been playable on PC in early access for years. People have been playing it in early access for a while now. But I seriously doubt it impacted Starfield's design at all.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

Just because its been in dev for 8 years (2 of those COVID years where people had to wfh) doesnt mean it needs to be revolutionary.

Studios did not take 2 years off for covid, gtfo. 6 months max. Even so, 6 years is a crazy length for a development cycle. Very few studios take that amount of time for 1 game. It's not unfair to set expectations high when a top tier studio takes that long on 1 game

God of war 2018, TOTK, and BG3 all had 6 year development times. Starfield had nearly 8 years

 

[Spyxos]

Next gen 1 billion games?

 

[ReBurn]

I am sure there will be more than enough Gamepass subscribers to make back the cost....

Too bad people can't buy it on Steam or anything. That would probably help.

 

[ByWatterson]

Gamepass is Sustainable (TM).

 

[killatopak]

This is without ads? Wtf

 

[Ozzie666]

It must be nice to have that kind of money to throw around at game development to hide the fact you don't know how to manage most your projects and teams. At least Starfield was handled mostly by Bethesda pre purchase, they are going to need to sell alot of copies on steam. The budget isn't surprising considering the years spent on the game, making it exclusive so late in the life cycle, questionable at best.

How much of my $15 game pass is going to go to Bethesda?

 

[mejin]

+ 500M with everything included then.

What a monster.

 

[bender]

How much of my $15 game pass is going to go to Bethesda?

 

[adamsapple]

 

[MMaRsu]

Studios did not take 2 years off for covid, gtfo. 6 months max. Even so, 6 years is a crazy length for a development cycle. Very few studios take that amount of time for 1 game. It's not unfair to set expectations high when a top tier studio takes that long on 1 game

God of war 2018, TOTK, and BG3 all had 6 year development times. Starfield had nearly 8 years

You do whatever you want with your expectations, I'm keeping mine in check. Skyrim in space, nothing more.

 

[diffusionx]

I thought it was $200M-$300M, but not surprised by this. Eight years of work, I doubt the people working there are cheap, very high-end production values, MS investing in it to get it over the finish line, etc.

 

[Insane Metal]

What the fuck??

 

[balls of snow]

It better be good then.
Final 24.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

You do whatever you want with your expectations, I'm keeping mine in check. Skyrim in space, nothing more.

I don't think it will be revolutionary, which is disappointing. I hope I'm wrong, but there shouldn't be any excuses for a dev time of that length

I will say, i bet this game could be a 10/10 game with mods 3 years from now

 

[MMaRsu]

there shouldn't be any excuses for a dev time of that length

Lmao who are you to decide

 

[Draugoth]

Will make 5x times that budget in a week.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

Lmao who are you to decide

Just my opinion mate

 

[MMaRsu]

Just my opinion mate

Thats fine but shit can happen during development that delays projects.

Bit weird to say there shouldnt be an excuse for it lmao, as if we know everything that can happen during a project which could cause delays.

 

[AmuroChan]

The 200 and 170 for RDR2 i think is only the devs costs, without marketing and everything else

Correct. Production budgets do not ever include marketing cost. Marketing costs are always accounted for separately. The dev team has nothing to do with the marketing. The marketing department ultimately determines how much to spend and what type of marketing they do for the product.

 

[SlimySnake]

Yh no. Bethesda was a 100 person studio up until 20-5 when they shipped fallout 4. They have become bigger side but only recently.

It’s probably a $200 million game max.

 

[Success]

$200 million is cheaper than I expected.

Considering the cost of Sony first party games.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

Thats fine but shit can happen during development that delays projects.

Bit weird to say there shouldnt be an excuse for it lmao, as if we know everything that can happen during a project which could cause delays.

Yeah, and it is not unfair to critique management for those delays. Even Bethesda would agree that 8 years between tentpole releases is ridiculous. Imagine getting Elder Scrolls 6 in 2031?

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

200 for dev, 200 for marketing

 

[MMaRsu]

Yeah, and it is not unfair to critique management for those delays. Even Bethesda would agree that 8 years between tentpole releases is ridiculous. Imagine getting Elder Scrolls 6 in 2031?

Why would you critique something about a situation you know nothing about.

Elder Scroll 6 in 2030 is very likely. What's wrong with that? Games take time to develop, it's not the 360 era anymore.
No way TES6 is releasing on PS5 and Xbox Series X (or just Series X). Bethesda likes to release their games when the install base is already there, usually mid gen.

Do you see Rockstar releasing a lot of games these days?

 

[Ozriel]

Halo Infinite budget is $500M isnt it ?

Low IQ rumor, obviously fake.

 

[fart town usa]

500 devs is like RE6 numbers.

 

[Ozriel]

Worth pointing out that the expert cited in the OP estimates a budget around $200m


OP and Exputer pulled $400m - $500m out of their asses.

It's been in full production for 8 years. It would be such a let down if this game isn't revolutionary

Six years

Gamepass is Sustainable (TM).

Steam sales alone will cover the budget for game development.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Napkin math.
400000000/8 years/12 months/500 developers is $8000 a month. Not a bad chunk of change.

 

[Ribi]

Scamfield

 

[Ozriel]

400 Million? I think that close to the budget of TLOU2 and Horizon Forbidden West combined.

Interesting.

$200 million was the analyst’s guess. Which would put it close to the budget for either of TLOU2 or Horizon Forbidden West