The short version: team × time
Engine licences and tools are a small part of most game budgets; people are the big one. Multiply the team you need by the months it takes, then by the hourly rate. Clutch's pricing guide, built from verified client reviews, lists Unity development at $25–$49 an hour, and its location data puts typical software development rates at $50–$99 an hour in the US and $100–$149 in Canada and Australia (Clutch, 2026).
So the useful questions are how many people, for how long, and where they're based. Everything else in this guide is about what pushes those numbers up or down.
Typical budgets by game type
The team sizes and durations below are our planning assumptions for a focused scope, not survey data. Costs use 160 working hours per person-month at $25–$49 an hour ($4,000–$7,840 per person-month).
| Game type | Typical team | Typical time | Cost at $25–$49/hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playable ad or small HTML5 game | 1–2 people | 2–6 weeks | About $2,000–$24,000 |
| Hyper-casual or simple 2D mobile game | 2 people | 1–2 months | About $8,000–$31,000 |
| Casual mobile game with ads, IAP and live ops | 3–4 people | 3–5 months | About $36,000–$157,000 |
| 2D indie game for PC | 3–5 people | 6–12 months | About $72,000–$470,000 |
| Mid-core 3D or multiplayer game | 6–10 people | 9–18 months | About $216,000–$1.4M |
What drives the cost of a game
- Content volume: every level, character, item and line of dialogue has to be designed, built, tested and balanced.
- Art style: stylised 2D is far cheaper to produce than realistic 3D, where characters, animation and lighting take specialists.
- Platforms: each one adds its own controls, UI layout, performance budget, store rules and testing.
- Multiplayer: real-time networking, servers, matchmaking and anti-cheat roughly add a second product to build and run.
- Monetisation and analytics: ad mediation, in-app purchases and event tracking need integration and testing on real devices.
- Polish and QA: the last 10% of feel and stability often takes a large share of the schedule.
Does the engine change the price?
Mostly through labour, not licences. Godot is free under the MIT licence (Godot). Unity Personal is free below $200,000 a year in revenue or funding, with paid seats above it (Unity, 2024). Unreal Engine charges a 5% royalty only on a product's lifetime gross revenue above $1 million (Epic Games).
The bigger effect is fit: an engine that suits your game and your team's skills saves weeks. Our Unity vs Unreal vs Godot comparison covers which engine suits which kind of game.
Costs that continue after launch
- Store accounts: Google Play charges a one-time $25 registration fee (Google Play Console Help); Apple's Developer Program is an annual membership; Steam Direct costs $100 per game, recoupable once it earns $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue (Steamworks).
- Store commissions: each store keeps a share of sales, so check their current terms before you set prices.
- Servers: multiplayer games and online features pay for hosting every month they're live.
- Live operations: new content, events and balance changes keep players coming back, and each one is a small production.
- Updates: new OS versions, SDK updates and store policy changes need fixes even when you add nothing new.
- Marketing and user acquisition: for many mobile games this rivals or exceeds the development budget.
How to keep the budget under control
- Prototype the core loop first. A few weeks of playable prototype tells you whether the game is fun before you commit a full budget.
- Fix the scope per milestone, with a playable build at the end of each one.
- Launch on one platform, learn, then port. Our game porting work starts from a game that already has players.
- Use proven assets and tools where they don't define your game's identity.
- Build analytics in from the start, so decisions after launch use real player data.
How we estimate a game
We start from a one-page brief: genre, target platforms, art references, monetisation and launch date. From that we recommend an engine, estimate the team and timeline, and propose a prototype milestone so the first spend buys an answer to the most important question: is it fun?
If you'd like that estimate for your idea, our game development team works in Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot and HTML5, and we can also join your studio through game development outsourcing.
Frequently asked questions
With two people for one to two months, roughly $8,000–$31,000 at $25–$49 an hour. Very small hyper-casual prototypes can cost less; many levels, custom art or live operations cost more.
Quotes differ in scope, art quality, platforms and where the team is based. Compare what each quote includes: number of levels, art style, platforms, QA and support after launch.
Licence costs are small either way: Godot is free, Unity Personal is free below $200,000 a year, and Unreal charges 5% only above $1 million per product. The engine that fits your game and team usually saves more than any licence difference.
Yes. Splitting the work into milestones with a playable build at the end of each one keeps spending tied to progress you can see and test.
Sources
- Software Development Company Pricing Guide — Clutch, updated September 2026
- Get started with Play Console — Google Play Console Help
- Steam Direct — Steamworks (Valve)
- Unity is canceling the Runtime Fee — Unity, September 2024
- Unreal Engine licensing options — Epic Games
- Godot Engine license — Godot Engine
Need a hand?
Want this done for your project?
Explore our game development services, hire Unity developers, or see our software house in Lahore page.
Start a project