How Much Does Game Development Cost?
A guide to game development pricing in 2026, by genre, team size, platform, art style and features. Every figure comes from our free cost estimator, built on UK market rates and our senior engineers' 12 and 14 years of production experience.
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Pick your genre, platform, art style, team and features to get a live cost range for your game, see what drives it and where you could save. Every figure in this guide comes from this tool.
Open the free cost estimator →The Short Answer
A small hyper-casual game from a solo developer starts at £7,500 to £15,000. A casual mobile game from a two-person team comes to £20,000 to £41,000, and an action or adventure game from a team of three or four to £125,000 to £245,000. Online and live-service games cost the most: an MMO from two developers starts at £325,000 to £655,000.
Each estimate is a range whose top is about twice its bottom. Where your project lands in it depends on how settled the design is and how much polish it needs. The tables below show every choice that moves it.
How the Estimate Is Built
Every estimate starts from the work a genre takes in days, then multiplies it by each choice you make. Each discipline's days are costed at its own rate: £500/day for engineering, £350/day for art, £400/day for design and production, and £250/day for QA. A port is priced by our porting estimator instead.
The multipliers compound, so three features at ×1.2 add 73%, not 60%. Online multiplayer is the one exception to pure multiplication: it always adds at least £5,000, because networking and testing across several devices cost about the same however small the game.
Base costs per genre combine typical team composition and production time from our shipped projects with UK contract market day rates (IT Jobs Watch) and UK earnings data (Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings). Industry context comes from TIGA research. Figures are reviewed quarterly. Last updated: October 2026.
Cost by Game Genre
Genre sets the base cost. These ranges are for one mobile store, stylised 2D art and medium content, with no backend, audio or extra features.
| Genre | Typical examples | Solo Developer | Duo Developer | Small (3-4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyper-casual | Tap-to-play games built around one mechanic | £9,000 to £18,000 | £10,000 to £20,000 | £12,000 to £23,000 |
| Casual / Puzzle | Match-3, word and brain-training games | £18,000 to £35,000 | £20,000 to £41,000 | £23,000 to £47,000 |
| Card / Board Game | Card battlers and digital board games | £22,000 to £44,000 | £26,000 to £51,000 | £29,000 to £59,000 |
| Educational / Serious Game | Curriculum apps, museum interactives, training games | £35,000 to £71,000 | £41,000 to £82,000 | £47,000 to £94,000 |
| Platformer / Runner | 2D platformers and endless runners | £44,000 to £89,000 | £51,000 to £100,000 | £59,000 to £115,000 |
| Simulation / Tycoon | Tycoon, management and idle games | £84,000 to £170,000 | £97,000 to £195,000 | £110,000 to £225,000 |
| Action / Adventure | Adventure, hack-and-slash and shooter games | £93,000 to £185,000 | £105,000 to £215,000 | £125,000 to £245,000 |
| RPG / Strategy | Turn-based RPGs, 4X strategy, tower defence | £100,000 to £200,000 | £115,000 to £230,000 | £130,000 to £265,000 |
| MMO / Live-Service | Persistent online worlds and competitive live games | £285,000 to £570,000 | £325,000 to £655,000 | £375,000 to £750,000 |
Team Size
Team size trades time for money. A bigger team finishes sooner, but not in proportion to its size, because coordination takes a growing share of everyone's time, so it costs more in total. The multiplier is people × time against a two-person team.
| Team | Multiplier | Casual mobile game | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo Developer | ×0.87 | £18,000 to £35,000 | 8 to 17 weeks |
| Duo Developer | ×1 | £20,000 to £41,000 | 5 to 10 weeks |
| Small (3-4) | ×1.15 | £23,000 to £47,000 | 3 to 6 weeks |
| Medium (5-6) | ×1.25 | £26,000 to £51,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Large (7-10) | ×1.38 | £28,000 to £56,000 | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Studio (10+) | ×1.5 | £30,000 to £61,000 | 1 to 2 weeks |
Cost by Platform
One mobile store is the baseline. Each extra platform adds its own input, certification and testing.
| Option | Multiplier | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile (Single OS) | ×1 | The baseline: one store and one family of devices to test. |
| Mobile (iOS & Android) | ×1.2 | Two stores, two device families and two review processes. |
| PC / Desktop | ×1.1 | Keyboard, mouse and controller input, higher resolution assets, storefront integration. |
| Console (Single) | ×1.6 | Devkits, platform certification and a controller-first interface. |
| Console (Multiple) | ×2 | Certification and performance work repeated for each console. |
| Cross-Platform (Mobile + PC) | ×1.55 | An interface that works for touch and mouse, with builds and testing for each platform. |
| Cross-Platform (All) | ×2.5 | Every platform's input, certification and testing in one release. |
Cost by Art Style
Art style is the choice with the widest spread after team size: photorealism costs eight times a minimal interface.
| Option | Multiplier | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Text / Minimal UI | ×0.5 | Interface-led games with little or no illustration. |
| Pixel Art | ×0.8 | Small sprites that are quick to draw and animate. |
| Hand-drawn 2D | ×1 | Illustrated, painterly art. |
| Stylised 2D | ×1 | Flat or vector 2D art, the baseline. |
| Stylised 3D (Low-Poly) | ×1.3 | Simple models and textures with stylised lighting. |
| Stylised 3D (Detailed) | ×1.4 | Detailed stylised models, rigs and animation. |
| Realistic 3D | ×2 | Realistic models, materials and lighting. |
| Photorealistic 3D | ×4 | Scanned or film-quality assets, the costliest look. |
What Drives Cost Up
Each feature multiplies the estimate, and they compound with each other.
| Option | Multiplier | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Local Multiplayer | ×1.2 | Shared-screen or same-device play, with no networking. |
| Monetisation / IAP | ×1.1 | In-app purchases, adverts and the store setup behind them. |
| Localisation (Multi-Language) | ×1.2 | Translated text and layouts that fit longer languages. |
| Live Ops / Seasonal Content | ×1.3 | Events, remote configuration and seasonal content. |
| Procedural Generation | ×1.2 | Generated levels or items: less art, more engineering. |
| Advanced AI / Pathfinding | ×1.1 | Enemy behaviour, navigation and difficulty tuning. |
| Accessibility Features | ×1.05 | Remappable controls, text scaling and colour-blind modes. |
| VR / AR Support | ×1.25 | Headset or camera interaction, and comfort testing. |
| Cross-Save / Cross-Play | ×1.4 | Shared accounts and progress across platforms. |
| User-Generated Content Tools | ×2 | Editors, sharing and moderation for player-made content. |
Scope, Backend and Starting Point
How much content you need, what runs on a server and what already exists all move the estimate.
| Content | Multiplier | Playtime |
|---|---|---|
| Prototype / MVP | ×0.5 | Core loop only |
| Small | ×1 | 1-2 hours playtime |
| Medium | ×1.2 | 3-8 hours |
| Large | ×1.4 | 10-20 hours |
| Very Large | ×1.8 | 20+ hours or endless |
| Starting point | Multiplier | What exists |
|---|---|---|
| From Scratch | ×1 | Greenfield project |
| Existing Prototype | ×0.9 | Foundation already built |
| Existing Codebase / Sequel | ×0.8 | Major systems reusable |
| Port from Another Platform | Priced as a port | Core game complete |
| Backend | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Offline Only | ×1 |
| Simple (Leaderboards, Cloud Saves) | ×1.2 |
| Moderate (Accounts, Analytics, CMS) | ×1.4 |
| Complex (Real-Time Servers, Matchmaking) | ×2 |
| Audio | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| None | ×1 |
| Library/Licensed SFX | ×1.1 |
| Library/Licensed Music | ×1.1 |
| Custom SFX | ×1.25 |
| Custom Music | ×1.25 |
Worked Examples
What the estimator gives for some of the briefs we see most often.
| Project | Choices | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Card game with local multiplayer | Card / Board Game, Mobile (Single OS), Stylised 2D, Small content, Solo Developer, Local Multiplayer | £22,000 to £44,000 |
| Casual puzzle game | Casual / Puzzle, Mobile (iOS & Android), Stylised 2D, Medium content, Duo Developer, Library/Licensed SFX, Monetisation / IAP | £30,000 to £59,000 |
| Educational app for schools | Educational / Serious Game, Mobile (iOS & Android), Stylised 2D, Medium content, Duo Developer, Simple (Leaderboards, Cloud Saves) backend, Accessibility Features | £62,000 to £125,000 |
| Console port of a platformer | Platformer / Runner, Console (Single), Stylised 2D, Medium content, Duo Developer, Port from Another Platform | £35,000 to £70,000 |
| Online card game | Card / Board Game, Mobile (iOS & Android), Stylised 2D, Medium content, Duo Developer, Complex (Real-Time Servers, Matchmaking) backend, Monetisation / IAP | £67,000 to £135,000 |
| PC action adventure | Action / Adventure, PC / Desktop, Stylised 3D (Low-Poly), Medium content, Duo Developer, Custom SFX, Custom Music | £235,000 to £470,000 |
Where the Budget Goes
Engineering is always the largest share. Art-heavy and engineering-heavy projects move it in opposite directions.
| Project profile | Development & Engineering | Art & Design | QA & Testing | Project Management |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical 2D game | 65% | 17% | 9% | 9% |
| Stylised or realistic 3D | 60% | 22% | 9% | 10% |
| Large content volume | 62% | 20% | 9% | 10% |
| Engineering-heavy (online multiplayer and AI) | 70% | 14% | 9% | 7% |
| Team of seven or more | 62% | 17% | 9% | 12% |
What does a UK Unity agency charge per day?
Our standard day rate for senior Unity development is £500 plus VAT per engineer. The rate we agree can vary with the client, the scope of the work and the budget available.
The day rate applies to co-development and other ongoing time-and-materials work, where you book engineering capacity rather than a fixed deliverable. It also covers ad hoc fixes once the 30-day bug warranty on delivered work has ended. Technical audits, discovery and advisory work are charged at a higher audit rate of £750 per day. VAT at 20% applies to UK clients.
Well-defined scopes, such as ports and prototypes, are quoted at a fixed price instead. We estimate the days involved, agree the deliverables and milestones with you, and the price covers that agreed scope.
As a worked example, a prototype estimated at 20 days of senior development comes to 20 × £500 = £10,000 plus VAT, or £12,000 including VAT for a UK client.
To model a longer engagement, try the co-development cost estimator.
From a guide price to an agreed scope
The ranges in this guide and our calculators are starting points for planning. Your brief, feedback and requested changes may increase or decrease the scope and estimated cost. We confirm the pricing basis before work starts and agree any later changes to scope, cost or timing with you before carrying them out.
A paid technical audit reviews an existing project and provides prioritised findings. A prototype tests an agreed gameplay or technical idea with a focused playable build. Each is scoped and priced separately from full development; neither commits you to commissioning the next stage.
For development, we agree deliverables, milestones and a fixed-price or time-based arrangement. Fixed-price packages cover their agreed scope; a full-project minimum does not automatically apply to an audit or smaller package. Your proposal sets out the fees and applicable VAT.
Share your goals, target platforms, existing assets or build, and any budget or deadline you have in mind. An unfinished brief is welcome. Our first conversation identifies what needs reviewing and the next useful deliverable before we prepare a proposal.
How to Reduce Costs Without Cutting Corners
Start with a Prototype
Build the core loop first and test it with players before committing to full production. In our estimator a prototype scope costs 50% of a small game's, and it tells you whether the concept works.
Use a Co-Development Partner
A co-development studio scales with your project: you pay for capacity when you need it, not when you don't. No recruitment costs, no bench time between projects.
Build on What Exists
An existing prototype takes the estimate to 90% and an existing codebase to 80%. We maintain reusable Unity modules for interface, analytics, monetisation and networking for the same reason.
Scope Ruthlessly
Every feature has a cost, and features compound. Cut the ones that don't directly serve the core experience. A polished small game outperforms a bloated large one.
Choose the Right Art Style
Stylised 2D is the baseline, realistic 3D doubles it (×2) and photorealism quadruples it (×4). Match the art style to your budget, not your aspirations.
Plan for One Platform First
Ship on one platform, prove the game, then port. Launching everywhere at once is ×2.5 the cost of one mobile store, which is only worth it if your business model needs a simultaneous launch.
Get a cost range for your game
The free cost estimator turns your genre, platforms and features into a range you can budget against.
Open the cost estimator