Open-world games have become all the rage in modern times. They're also devilishly expensive to make, causing companies to spend millions if they want players to enjoy the best AAA experience they can get their hands on.

This has caused both the time and money required for open-world games to skyrocket. Some of the most expensive video games of all time boast ridiculous numbers, prompting fans to wonder how far this figure will rise before the video game market eventually crashes.

The marketing and promotion for Watch Dogs ensured that everyone would be aware of Ubisoft's latest open-world game. It helped that the preview trailers boasted jaw-dropping graphics that were in a class of their own.

It's a shame that this marketing material was ultimately deceptive, since Watch Dogs looked nothing like what the trailers suggested it to be. It was still a ton of fun to play and took a lot of money to make, showing just how confident Ubisoft was about this open-world title.

CD Projekt Red has transformed from humble beginnings to become one of the biggest players in the video game industry. This started well before the release of The Witcher 3, with the company having access to a ton of funds to give Geralt the sendoff he deserved.

The epic cinematic trappings of The Witcher 3, coupled with the buzz its marketing generated, made it clear that CD Projekt Red would sweep fans off their feet with this title. They didn't disappoint, with The Witcher 3 more than justifying its massive budget by letting players experience one of the best open-world RPGs ever made.

Grand Theft Auto 4 was a step in a new direction for Rockstar, which had to adjust to a new engine to help the franchise retain its groundbreaking nature. This was achieved by reducing the scope of GTA 4's world somewhat by placing it in the urban trappings of Liberty City, which turned out to be a genius decision.

It ensured that development costs wouldn't skyrocket as fans enjoyed yet another stellar open-world adventure in the GTA universe. The exciting gameplay and cinematic story showed where all the money had gone, transforming Grand Theft Auto 4 into yet another open-world classic released by Rockstar.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the best video games ever made, with Rockstar taking a long time to develop a gorgeous open world full of things to do. After a more linear prologue chapter, the game opens up and lets players witness gorgeous landscapes as they ride through these jaw-dropping locations as Arthur Morgan.

The budget for this game was massive and showed just how expensive video game development can be. Marketing is more expensive than fans assume, ensuring that Red Dead Redemption 2's budget would balloon and turn it into one of the most expensive video games ever made.

There's a reason why fans lament the lack of first-party content for the PS5. Game development has become such a time-consuming and expensive process that it's becoming increasingly challenging to match the pace of releases fans were accustomed to in previous generations.

The fact that Horizon Forbidden West cost more than $200 million personifies this statement. The game looked gorgeous and clearly made the most of this massive budget, even if the release of Elden Ring overshadowed this title (much like what happened to Zero Dawn with the release of Breath of the Wild back in 2017).

Grand Theft Auto 5 is a technical achievement that shows just how competent Rockstar's development team is. The game was notorious for boasting a massive budget that turned it into the most expensive video game ever produced back in the day.

Even with video game development continuing to be expensive, it speaks volumes that Grand Theft Auto 5 is ranked so high up. Rockstar clearly went all out in the development of this masterpiece, with its video game engine being so ahead of its time that it wasn't until the dawn of a new console generation that fans experienced the true potential of this title.

The Spider-Man license may be really expensive, but that still makes it hard to fathom the massive development cost for the greatest game featuring the iconic wallcrawler. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a massive improvement from the first game on almost every front, even if some people felt that the narrative took a step back from its predecessor.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 boasts amazing traversal and sharp combat that will keep fans coming back for more. The game's massive budget is justified from the very moment players boot up this title and see how well it makes the most of the PS5's advanced hardware.

Cyberpunk 2077 offers one of the most spectacular settings in the genre, though it took a while for players to warm up to this title. Despite its massive budget, Cyberpunk 2077 was rushed out the door with so many bugs that it destroyed CD Projekt Red's goodwill in the wake of the highly acclaimed The cher 3.

However, a steady stream of updates, coupled with an excellent expansion pack, ensured that Cyberpunk 2077 would eventually worm its way into everyone's good graces. The game eventually justified its massive development costs, with the bulk of this budget going into marketing this title and generating a ton of hype that ended up working against the title at launch.