5. Destiny (2014)

Into the future. The gameplay screenshot from Destiny is full of juicy details.

Production cost upon release: US $140 million

2015 inflated cost: US $140 million

What made it so expensive?

Activision really wants this game to be huge, hiring Bungie – developer of Halo, and allotting a budget of $500 million spread across the projected 10-year development lifespan of the game. The plan is to release four Destiny games and multiple DLCs in between. It’s a multi-platform game catering to owners of PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

However the initial cost upon deployment of the first Destiny game was only $140 million, including marketing efforts by Bungie, according to the leak published by LA Times. How much Activision has spent in marketing remains undisclosed. Still, a $500 million budget for a video game is ridiculously huge, eclipsing even the most expensive film which is James Cameron’s Avatar.

It’s definitely one of the most expensive video game budgets announced prior to its initial release.