How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Game App?

I. Cost Range of Game App Development

1. Ultra-Casual Games (Mini-Games / H5 Games)

• Type: Casual mini-games (e.g., Tiao Yi Tiao, Hexa Merge)
• Technology: H5 or WeChat Mini Game engines (Cocos2d-x, Phaser)
• Development Cycle: 1–3 months
• Cost: 10,000 – 100,000 yuan
• Features: Fast development, ad-based monetization; suitable for individual developers or small teams.

2. Casual Mobile Games (2D / Simple 3D)

• Type: Card games, match-3 games, tower defense (e.g., Happy Little Eliminating / Toy Blast-style games)
• Technology: Unity 2D, Godot, SpriteKit
• Development Cycle: 3–6 months
• Cost: 100,000 – 500,000 yuan
• Features: Requires basic art assets and gameplay design; a common choice for small to medium-sized teams.

3. Mid-Core Mobile Games (3D / Online)

• Type: MMORPGs, MOBAs, open-world games (e.g., simplified versions of Genshin Impact)
• Technology: Unity 3D, Unreal Engine (partial features)
• Development Cycle: 6–18 months
• Cost: 500,000 – 30,000,000 yuan
• Features: Requires servers, multiplayer synchronization, complex art, and in-depth game design.

4. AAA-Level Heavyweight Games

• Type: Console/PC-quality games, open-world titles (e.g., Black Myth: Wukong)
• Technology: Unreal Engine 5, self-developed engines
• Development Cycle: 2–5 years
• Cost: 5,000,000 yuan – over 100,000,000 yuan
• Features: Requires large teams, high standards for art and programming; extremely high risk.

II. Core Cost Components

1. Labor Costs (60% – 80% of Total Cost)

• Developers: 15,000 – 40,000 yuan / month per person (senior Unity engineers cost more)
• Artists: Concept artists, 3D modelers, animators (10,000 – 30,000 yuan / month per person)
• Game Designers: System designers, balance designers, level designers (10,000 – 25,000 yuan / month per person)
• Testing/DevOps: Account for approximately 10% of the total cost in the later stages.

2. Technical Costs

• Engine Licensing: Unity Pro (15,000 yuan / year per user), Unreal Engine (5% revenue share)
• Servers: Approximately 10,000 – 50,000 yuan / month in the initial phase (via Alibaba Cloud/Tencent Cloud)
• Third-Party SDKs: Payment gateways, ad networks (e.g., 穿山甲 / Chuanshanjia), anti-cheat tools (50,000 – 200,000 yuan /year)

3. Art & Audio Costs

• 2D Characters: 500 – 3,000 yuan per design
• 3D Models: 2,000 – 20,000 yuan per model (higher precision models cost more)
• Music & Sound Effects: Outsourcing costs 10,000 – 100,000 yuan.

4. Operation & Compliance Costs

• Game License Application (China): 50,000 – 100,000 yuan (takes 6–12 months)
• Overseas Publishing: Localization + channel revenue share (30% – 50% of gross revenue).