The free-to-play shooter America's Army, meant to act as a recruiting tool for the U.S. military, cost $32.8 million over eight years.
The annual, year-by-year budget for the promotional game was revealed by a Freedom of Information Act request by Gamespot. The game's original budget was meant to be much lower; at first it was said that the America's Army project would spend $7 million over five years. But the series has expanded beyond its original scope: The game is now on its third sequel, and had retail versions were eventually released to stores.
The ballooning game budget might seem excessive, especially considering the fact that genuinely profitable games have similar costs. But ten years of Super Bowl ads (at a rate of nearly $3 million for thirty seconds) could easily have cost as much.
Image courtesy America's Army
See Also:
