this post was submitted on 20 May 2025
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I don't condone this, but we already had $60 games 10 years ago. If you simply add inflation you'd be at $81 today. That doesn't even take into account that modern games also have larger budgets compared to back then.
Video games really are a cheap hobby comparatively speaking. I still wait for sales of course :)
Games have also gotten massively cheaper due to distribute due to digital downloads being the most common, and they're making way more sales due to gaming having a much larger audience.
The main reason these games have ridiculously inflated budgets are because execs are pushing for more management, which in turn push for oversized teams making design-by-committee out of fear of making something people don't like. The gamin industry doesn't get to make excuses anymore. Them being unable to reign in their development budgets aren't our problem. They need to figure out how to offer games at a lower price, because they're going to run out of customers willing to pay otherwise
Actually around half the budget of an AAA game is just marketing cost. Which feels wasteful, but if you need to recoup hundreds of millions it might be necessary.