Video game development is booming with no sign of going down in the forthcoming days. As per a report of Statista, the video game market is expected to reach the threshold of $29.5 billion by the end of 2024 that too alone in the USA, from $18.25 billion.
In simple words, the online video game market in the USA is on the surge and generating massive income opportunities for the business involved in game development.
If you are also planning to develop your own video game, then the first thought you might come across is how much it will cost to develop a video game in the USA.
In this post, I will help you seek the answers to such questions.
Factors That Determines the Cost of Video Game Development in the USA
The following are some of the essential factors that you need to pay attention to while developing an online video game.
1. Video Game Development Platform
Before proceeding with your video game development project, the first thing you need to decide is the video game development platform. There are two most commonly used operating systems available in the market name: Android and iOS. You need to do some research to find out who your target audience is and which operating system serves them.
For your information, the Android game development cost would be higher in comparison to the iOS video game development. The explanation behind this is that you need to test your game application on a higher number of Android devices, while the number of iOS devices is competitively low.
You may also consider choosing hybrid game app development. However, by doing so, the cost of video game development becomes pricier. Hence, you need to make the decision wisely.
2. Design of Video Game
The mobile design process is a crucial element of video game development to attract the audience to your video game. The design is made up of various elements such as game levels, target audience, gameplay, game layout, and so on. The designers also need to think of some additional features to make your video game even more engaging.
The cost can also be influenced by your choice of developing 2D or 3D video games. As a general rule, the cost of developing 2D video games will be much lower instead of developing 3D video games. In the designing phase of a video game, many professionals come into action, including UI/UX designers, game artists, and architecture. Depending on their capabilities and requirements, each individual will cost you a significant amount.
3. Game Categories and Genres
The stage in video game development is starting coding. This one is the most important and expensive step that you need to consider. The cost of developing video games online highly depends on the kind of game you are trying to develop. Whether it is a casual 2D game, social game, or high-level game.
Depending on their complexity and required development time, we have categorized the video game development into the following six categories.
- Mini-games: $2,000 to $10,000.
- Simple 2D games: $10,000 to $20,000.
- Social games: $100,000 to $250,000.
- Mid-level games: $250,000 to $700,000
- Business game applications: $250,000 to $550,000
- High-level games: $400,000 to $1,000,000
4. Video Game App Testing
When it comes to ensuring the smooth working of the video game, development testing emerges as an inevitable process. Gamers except for seamless gaming experiences from your video game application they won’t tolerate any bugs or performance deficiency in your video game application.
A huge number of video game development companies usually offer testing as a standard part of their video game development life-cycle. If not, then you might have to pay some additional amount depending on the time and resources required to test your game application thoroughly.
5. Marketing Your Video Game App
No matter how intelligently you have designed and developed your video game application. It is less likely to be accepted by the market unless you have sound marketing strategies. You need to have someone on your side with great marketing sense to make your video game viral.
You need to keep a certain budget aside to properly market your product. Cutting down corners in marketing could become a reason for the failure of your video game application.
Conclusion: Video Game Development Cost in the USA
Let’s quickly sum up this post by providing you with an estimated cost of video game development in the USA.
As mentioned earlier, the mini and simple 2D games will cost you between $2,000 to 20,000. Whereas business and high-level video game development will cost you between $250,000 to $1,000,000.
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