Spending Hundreds or Even Thousands on a Single Game... The "Amazing Graphics" Come With a Hefty Price Tag [Tech Talk]

Over the past 30 years, video games (games played on monitors using PCs, consoles, and game software) have undergone remarkable advancements. The latest game graphics are now so sophisticated that they are often indistinguishable from films, with every available technology being utilized to create dazzling visuals. However, this progress has come at a cost. Major game development companies are pouring significant amounts of money into launching new titles, leading to a sharp increase in game prices.

Modern PC game. Pixabay

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From the era of home consoles in the 1990s to the early 2000s when PC games became dominant, the cost of downloading a single game software title in the United States was around $49.99 (approximately 70,000 KRW). However, since 2016, when major game companies raised software prices to $59.99 (about 83,000 KRW), the price of new games has continued to rise with each release.

According to the price list of Steam, the world's largest game platform, as of 2025, the standard price for regular games is between $70 and $80 (about 97,000 to 111,000 KRW). Major companies like Nintendo apply a variable pricing system, where prices fluctuate based on demand. For popular games, prices can reach up to $90 (about 125,000 KRW). The costs are not limited to downloading the game software itself. Additional content provided after release, such as expansion packs and DLC (Downloadable Contents), is usually paid and typically ranges from $10 to $40 (about 13,900 to 55,000 KRW). These companies offer regular updates and frequently release paid content. It is not uncommon for players to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a single game.

Given the inflation rate over the past decade, it is not surprising that game prices have increased. Serkan Toto, CEO of game market consulting firm Kantan Games, said in an interview with the industry media outlet "GamesIndustry.biz" in April that "prices have risen sharply in recent years, and reciprocal tariffs are expected to be imposed." He added, "Just as the prices of other consumer goods have gone up, it is inevitable that game prices will rise as well."

However, inflation and tariff burdens alone cannot fully explain the current price hikes.

Nintendo, Japan's largest game company, has its flagship title "The Legend of Zelda" as a representative case of a variable pricing system. The game, including expansion packs and DLC, was priced at a fixed price of $90, sparking controversy. Nintendo

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The graphic difference between Nintendo's "Super Mario" released in 1990 (above) and Nintendo's "Super Mario Odyssey" from 2017. Online community, Nintendo YouTube capture.

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The surge in game prices can be attributed to the increase in development and marketing costs. In particular, for large-scale games that must simultaneously offer advanced graphics, cinematic production, and massive online services, development costs have skyrocketed. The term "AAA game" was coined to describe these large-scale games developed with hundreds of employees and enormous budgets.

Game companies do not specify the exact cost of AAA game development. However, in 2023, when the UK Competition and Markets Authority blocked the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by tech giant Microsoft, a report explaining the decision partially disclosed average game development costs.

The report stated that the average cost to develop a AAA game increased fourfold, from $50 million (about 6.94 billion KRW) in 2018 to $200 million (about 27.8 billion KRW) in 2023. For Activision Blizzard's flagship "Call of Duty" series, development costs nearly doubled from $450 million (about 625 billion KRW) in 2015 to $700 million (about 972.3 billion KRW) in 2020. When marketing expenses are added, the total cost for a single game easily exceeds 1 trillion KRW. From the perspective of game developers, raising prices is inevitable in order to recoup development and marketing expenses.

A scene of motion capture work capturing character movements at a game development studio. Screenshot from Barklees website.

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Veteran game developers point to "technological advancement" as the cause of rising development costs. The industry has established a culture of investing heavily in the latest graphics technology, often at the expense of efficiency.

Raph Koster, the lead developer of "Ultima Online" and now a respected industry veteran and lecturer, has been warning about the skyrocketing costs of game development since 2018. At that time, he surveyed 250 game developers and collected data on development costs. His analysis showed that from 1995 to 2015, game development costs increased tenfold every decade.

It is not just the costs that have grown. The size of games has also expanded dramatically. From 1985 to 2005, the total size of games increased by 122 times. In contrast, the efficiency of content production improved only sixfold during the same period. The time required to develop a single game also increased more than twentyfold. As the release cycle for new games has noticeably lengthened, companies are compelled to maximize profits from each title.

Koster noted, "In 1997, it took 10 days to create a single game character, but by 2007 it took 35 days, and by 2018 it had increased to 100 days." He added, "Character resolution has increased sixteenfold. Moreover, every character now needs to be developed with considerations for light reflection, shadows, and how they appear in 3D environments." He warned, "All of this is a result of 'technological advancement,' but if our industry continues to focus solely on technology without considering efficiency, the problem will only get worse in the future."

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