Sequels always go bigger. Movies up the budget, star power, and stakes. Video games often do the same. Exceptions exist, of course, because they can use the established tools and technology from the prior outing to cut costs, but many eschew these money saving maneuvers in favor of an ambitious follow-up bringing something new to the table in every face of the design.

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The following ten games are the most expensive video game sequels of the past decade. For the most part, one can see where the money went, though a couple have not stood the test of time.

10 Crysis 3- ~66M

Crysis 3 game play

Crytek's technical powerhouse took the PC gaming world by storm in 2007. The sequel failed to impress on a similar level due to its linearity. Crysis 3 is the latest entry in the series and cost the studio sixty-six million dollars to produce.

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It was a decent send off for the series, managing to meld the best parts of the prior two entries. The first game's openness and the second's finest linear segments were put side by side.

9 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain- ~80M

Hideo Kojima's last entry into his fabled franchise polarized fans, though it received universal praise from critics. Even in its unfinished state, plenty of beefy game content exists within to keep gamers occupied for more than fifty hours. Don't think it was cheap because the story didn't reach the finish line, however.

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Production costs ran upwards of eighty million dollars. Some of this may include the development of the Fox Engine, which sadly didn't get much use afterwards. It is still painful to think about the story behind the game's development. Thankfully, the scars have started to heal with the release of Kojima's next game, Death Stranding.

8 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt- ~45M

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CD Projekt Red goes bigger with each project. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was their first foray into a true open-world RPG, and the arduous development paid off in spades. With the decade closing out, it is making its way to many "best of the last ten years" lists.

The company put forty-five million dollars into the game. Leading up to release, an additional thirty-five million went into marketing. Their upcoming project, Cyberpunk 2077, is probably costing significantly more to get out the door.

7 Mass Effect: Andromeda- ~100M

Last generation, the Mass Effect franchise was king. Andromeda had a lot of hype behind it and a large legacy to live up to. Sadly, it reached none of those heights. Numerous problems hindered development, not the least of which was the mandatory use of the Frostbite Engine, which wasn't optimized for an RPG.

Not even one hundred million dollars and a massive team of over two hundred people could salvage Andromeda from its disastrous release. A Plethora of bugs have since been fixed, but the issue remains - the game simply isn't that fun.

6 Dead Space 2- ~60M

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Dead Space gave the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill a run for their money. At a time when Capcom's franchise was more action-oriented and Konami's was fading into obscurity, EA's science fiction survival horror game filled a void. While the first game kept the action on a single ship, the sequel was set on an entire space station.

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To realize this world and build upon the first one's tech, EA pumped sixty million dollars into development. to make sure everyone in the world knew about Dead Space 2, another sixty million was put into marketing. The first gets all the praise for its innovations, but Dead Space 2 is a worthy successor.

5 Red Dead Redemption 2- ~100M

Rockstar Game's recent open-world western is one of the most ambitious games ever made in terms of scope. Its vibrant old west world is brimming with life, characters, and serves as the backdrop for Arthur Morgan's tragic story.

After going through the more than sixty-hour long campaign, the multiplayer provides endless entertainment. Fans have to pay sixty dollars at most to get this title, while the publisher had to fork over a whopping one hundred million bucks to develop the landmark journey.

4 Max Payne 3- ~105M

Max Payne 3 in a drunken sutpor in his room

Fans of the hard-boiled detective had to wait almost nine full years to get their hands on the third installment. Some were weary of the sunny setting and the character's new shaven look, but all worries were assuaged once the game started. The gun play is as tight as ever and the story is the familiar gut punch one would expect from the gritty film noir-inspired series.

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The developers aimed to recreate a virtual Brazil for the game's levels, and spent time in the country extensively researching locations and casting local talent for roles. This, along with the impressive advancements to the Rage Engine, gave the game production costs reaching approximately one hundred and five million dollars.

3 Battlefield 4- ~100M

The Battlefield series differentiated itself from competitors by focusing on large scale battles featuring dozens of players. Battlefield 3 was a comeback for the numbered entries, and EA really put a lot of eggs in the basket for the first next-gen outing.

By eggs, we mean dollars; one hundred million of them, to be exact. The series always impressed with its destruction and dynamic multiplayer maps, neither of which comes cheap.

2 Shadow Of The Tomb Raider- ~110M

Shadow of the tomb raider

The rebooted Tomb Raider games came out of the gate swinging. The sequels were similarly praised.  None of the games were ever inexpensive to produce, though 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider takes the cake, coming out at around one hundred and ten million dollars in production costs.

With the trilogy concluded, it is hard to say in which direction the franchise will go. The gritty take on the character is a nice change, but some miss the fun tone of titles like Tomb Raider: Legend.

1 Grand Theft Auto V- ~135M

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Rockstar never cuts corners on budget, and why should they? When one is making a surefire hit, they have to make sure it is the best it can possible be. With Grand Theft Auto V, that meant pouring one hundred-thirty-five million dollars into creating the Los Angeles-inspired setting, and then spreading the word with a one hundred-twenty million dollar marketing campaign.

The latter effort paid off, since the title is the highest grossing media property ever. With GTA Online still going strong, the game shows no signs of slowing down. A release on PS5 and Project Scarlett would not be the least bit surprising.

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