# How much does it cost to make a game with AI

> Starting to make a game with AI costs from $45, about R$ 227 in Brazilian reais before card taxes: the program where the game is built can be free, the AI costs $20 a month on the entry plan, with a usage limit, and Google Play charges $25 one time. Prices as of October 2026. Apple and Steam cost more.

Summary for when you're short on time

- Godot, a free program for making games, charges nothing, and the game made with it belongs to whoever made it.
- The AI that writes the code costs $20 a month on Claude's entry plan, about R$ 101 in Brazilian reais at the exchange rate of October 14, 2026, or close to R$ 104 with Brazil's 3.5% IOF tax on card purchases, and that plan has a usage limit.
- Some coding AIs have a free plan for trying them out, such as GitHub Copilot, with 50 chat requests a month.
- Art and sound are optional at first; the entry-level paid plans we looked at range from $6 to $15 a month.
- To put the game in a store: $25 one time on Google Play, $99 a year with Apple, which requires a Mac, and $100 per game on Steam.
- Adding up the program, one month of AI, and the Google Play fee, the minimum to start is $45, about R$ 227 before the IOF tax (our math).
- The biggest cost does not show up on any bill: your time.

Your first step: Write down on a sheet of paper the three items of the minimum (program, AI, and store) and decide which store your first game will go to, before you subscribe to anything.

By Daniel Novi. Published October 15, 2026. Updated October 15, 2026. Address: https://www.gamearchitectsai.com/en/start-here/cost-to-make-a-game-with-ai

## How much does it cost, in total, to start making a game with AI?

From $45, about R$ 227 in Brazilian reais, to get started and put your first game on the Android store. The math has three lines: the program where the game is built, which can be free; one month of the AI that writes the code, $20; and the Google Play fee, $25, paid one time. The total is our math, using official prices from October 2026 and the dollar rate of October 14, 2026[14].

For a long time, making a game meant paying a team: someone to program, someone to draw, someone for the music. Today AI handles a good share of those roles, and the bill for someone starting alone fits on a short receipt.

But that receipt has fine print. The AI's entry plan has a usage limit. The following months count too. Other stores charge more. And the biggest cost, your time, does not show up on any bill. The sections below break down each line.

| Item | Cost (October 2026) | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Program where the game is built (Godot) | $0[1] | Yes, but there is a free option |
| AI that writes the code (Claude's entry plan) | $20 a month[3] | In practice, yes |
| Image AI (Scenario, Starter plan) | $15 a month[6] | No |
| Sound AI (ElevenLabs Starter or Suno Pro) | $6 or $8 a month[7][8] | No |
| Google Play | $25, one time[9] | Only to publish on Android |
| Apple | $99 a year, plus a Mac[11][12] | Only to publish on iPhone |
| Steam | $100 per game[13] | Only to publish on computer, through Steam |

## Do you have to pay for the program that makes games?

It doesn't have to cost anything. Godot, a free and open source program for making games, charges no monthly fee, takes nothing per game sold, and leaves the whole game with whoever made it[1]. In the field, this kind of program is called a game engine.

The official page says Godot can be used for any purpose and that the person who makes the game is the sole owner of its rights[1]. The only requirement is that Godot's copyright notice go along with the game, and a link to the license in the credits is enough[1].

The computer doesn't need to be expensive for 2D games either. Godot's official minimum is 4 GB of memory and integrated graphics, the kind that already comes with the computer; the recommendation is 8 GB and a dedicated graphics card[2]. Heavy 3D games need more. See [whether your computer is good enough for making games](/en/start-here/computer-requirements-to-make-games).

## How much does the AI that writes the code cost?

$20 a month on Claude's entry plan, which includes Claude Code, the AI that writes the code inside the game's folder[3]. On the annual plan, it comes to $17 a month, with $200 paid up front[3].

This is the item that moves the game forward, and the only one that repeats every month. It has two pieces of fine print:

- **Usage limit.** Every Claude plan has a limit that resets every five hours, and the paid plans also have a weekly limit[3]. When it runs out, you wait to continue. The game is not lost; it just takes longer.
- **The free plan won't do it.** Claude has a free plan, but Claude Code only comes with Pro and above[3].

There are other coding AIs at similar prices. OpenAI's Codex comes with ChatGPT plans, including Go, at $8 a month, and Plus, at $20[4]. GitHub Copilot has a Pro plan at a base price of $10 a month and a free plan with 2,000 suggestions and 50 chat requests a month, including the mode where the AI works on the project[5]. The full comparison is in [which AI to use for making games](/en/tools/ai-tools-for-making-games).

People who work many hours a day feel the limit. Claude's Max plan starts at $100 a month and gives five or twenty times the usage of Pro[3]. It is not where you start, but it is good to know it exists before assuming the entry plan will keep up with any pace.

## What about art and sound, how much do they cost?

They can cost nothing at first, and somewhere between $6 and $15 a month when you want your own art and music, on the entry plans we looked at. The coding AI can build a game with simple shapes and ready-made sounds, so these costs can wait.

| Tool | What for | Entry paid plan (October 2026) | What the free plan allows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario | Game art in a consistent style | $15 a month, 1,500 credits[6] | Personal use and evaluation; the commercial license is in the paid plans[6] |
| ElevenLabs | Sound effects and voices | $6 a month, 30,000 credits[7] | 10,000 credits a month; the commercial license starts at Starter[7] |
| Suno | Music | $8 a month, 2,500 credits and 20 downloads[8] | 50 credits a day, no monthly downloads, and no commercial rights[8] |

Here, what matters most is the right to sell. In all three cases, commercial use is in the paid plans[6][7][8]. It makes sense to test on the free plan and subscribe only in the month when you are going to generate the game's final art and music (our take).

## How much does it cost to put the game in a store?

It depends on the store: $25 one time on Google Play, $99 a year with Apple, and $100 per game on Steam. Prices as of October 2026, in US dollars.

| Store | Fee | How it is paid | What else it asks for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Play (Android) | $25[9] | One time only | Age 18, identity verification and, for a new personal account, a closed test with 12 people for 14 days in a row[9][10] |
| App Store (iPhone) | $99[11] | Per year | A Mac with Xcode to prepare the game[12] |
| Steam (computer) | $100[13] | Per game | A 30-day wait between paying and launching, for your first games[13] |

**Google Play is the cheapest door.** The fee is paid one time, by credit or debit card, and the store asks for ID and a card in your name[9]. If the details are considered invalid, the fee is not refunded[9]. A personal account created after November 2023 can only launch after a closed test with at least 12 people for 14 days in a row[10]. The steps are in [how to publish a game on Google Play](/en/publishing/how-to-publish-a-game-on-google-play).

**Apple charges every year and requires a Mac.** The developer program costs $99 per membership year, or the amount in local currency where available[11]. And Godot's documentation is direct: to prepare the game for iPhone, you need a computer with macOS and Xcode installed[12]. If all you have is a Windows computer, start with Android, the web, or Steam.

**Steam charges per game, and pays it back later.** It is $100 per game, which comes back in your payout once the game passes $1,000 in adjusted revenue[13]. Before that, the fee is not refunded[13].


## How much is that in Brazilian reais?

This part is for readers who pay in Brazil. There is no official price in reais on these pages: all the prices are in US dollars. At the PTAX selling rate of October 14, 2026, R$ 5.0441 per dollar, according to Brazil's Central Bank[14], the conversion looks like this (our math, without taxes):

| Item | In dollars | In reais (PTAX of October 14, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Coding AI, one month | $20 | about R$ 101 |
| Google Play, one time | $25 | about R$ 126 |
| Apple, one year | $99 | about R$ 499 |
| Steam, one game | $100 | about R$ 504 |
| Minimum to start (program, one month of AI, and Google Play) | $45 | about R$ 227 |

## What about Brazil's IOF tax on dollar purchases?

For readers who pay with a Brazilian card, the bill comes out a little higher because of the IOF, a federal tax. Paying for a subscription charged in dollars with a card counts as buying a service from abroad, and Brazil's IOF regulation sets a 3.5% rate for that purchase[16]. On a credit card, it is charged on the day of each purchase, according to CRC-SP, the accounting council of the state of São Paulo[15].

With the IOF, the $20 for the AI becomes close to R$ 104, and the minimum to start goes from about R$ 227 to close to R$ 235 (our math). The card's bank also uses its own exchange rate, and Anthropic's page warns that the price shown does not include taxes[3].

The rate is set by decree and has changed more than once. In 2025, the increase to 3.5% was overturned by Brazil's Congress and then restored by a decision of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court[15][16]. This section is for information and is not tax advice: the rules can change, and the dollar changes every day. On the day you subscribe, redo the math with that day's rate and check the tax on your bill or with your bank.

## How much does it cost in each scenario?

The scenarios below are examples, not the cost of a finished game. Imagine someone who takes three months to make a small game, working in their spare time. The math is ours, with prices from October 2026 and the dollar rate of October 14, 2026.


| Scenario | What it includes | Total in dollars | In Brazilian reais, without IOF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just trying it | Godot and a coding AI's free plan | $0 | R$ 0 |
| Minimum, with Android | Godot, one month of AI ($20), and Google Play ($25) | $45 | about R$ 227 |
| Typical, with Android | Three months of AI ($60), one month of art ($15), one month of sound effects ($6), one month of music ($8), and Google Play ($25) | $114 | about R$ 575 |
| Typical, with Android and iPhone | The previous scenario plus one year of Apple ($99) | $213, plus a Mac | about R$ 1,074, plus a Mac |

And if the game goes to Steam, add $100, about R$ 504, per game[13].

Notice that the "typical" scenario already doubles the minimum, and that the biggest jump comes from Apple, not from the AI. For a first game, starting with a single store keeps the bill smaller and the path shorter (our take).

## What is left out of the math?

Your time, first of all. Next to the hours of work, the monthly fees are the small part of the bill (our take). AI shortens the path between the idea and the game, but deciding what the game is, testing, and fixing are still the work of whoever makes it.

Also left out of the math:

- **The following months of AI.** If the game takes six months, that is six monthly fees.
- **The computer and the internet.** The coding AI works over the internet. The computer can be a simple one, but it has to stay on while the AI works.
- **The Mac,** if the plan includes iPhone.
- **Promotion.** Putting the game in a store is one thing; getting people to find it is another, and it can cost time and money.

## How much do we spend on the portal's games?

More than the minimum on this page, and on purpose. In the six games we made with AI, which the portal covers behind the scenes, the AI that wrote the code was Claude Code, and Daniel, who writes here, uses the highest plan, because he makes several large games at the same time. The program where the games are built is free. None of the six has been published yet, so none has paid a store fee.

The entry plan works for starting a small game, at a different pace: when the limit runs out, you wait and continue. What you can't do is expect the $20 plan to keep up with someone making six games at the same time.

**The other side.** Cheap to start does not mean cheap to finish. The entry plan's limit can turn weeks into months, and each extra month is one more monthly fee. Art and music made with AI can only be sold on the paid plans of the tools covered here. Google Play asks for a test with 12 people before launch, Apple charges every year and requires a Mac, and Steam only pays the fee back after $1,000 in revenue. And spending little to make a game says nothing about earning money from it: no one can promise you will get rich.

## Where do you start without wasting money?

With what costs nothing: the written idea and the free program. Subscribe to the AI only when you know which game you are going to make, and pay the store only when the game is close to done. The order of the spending matters as much as the amount.

The first step fits on a sheet of paper: [write your game idea in three sentences](/en/start-here/how-to-start-making-a-game), before you open any program or enter any card.

## Your action plan

- [ ] Write your game idea in three sentences: what the player does, how they win, and why they would play again.
- [ ] Choose a single store for your first game, ideally the one that does not require a new computer.
- [ ] Check that your computer has at least 4 GB of memory, Godot's official minimum.
- [ ] Download Godot from the official site; it is free.
- [ ] Try a coding AI on the free plan, if there is one, before subscribing to the paid one.
- [ ] Read the entry plan's usage limit before paying the first monthly fee.
- [ ] If you pay in another currency, redo the math on the day you subscribe, with that day's exchange rate and your card's taxes (in Brazil, the IOF).
- [ ] Wait to pay the store fee until the game is close to done.

## Related questions

### Can you make a game with AI for free?

You can try it without spending anything: Godot is free and some coding AIs have a free plan, such as GitHub Copilot. For a whole game, the free limit runs out fast, and putting it on Google Play costs $25.

### How much does the AI for making games cost in Brazilian reais?

There is no official price in reais. Claude's entry plan, which includes Claude Code, costs $20 a month: about R$ 101 at the PTAX dollar rate of October 14, 2026, or close to R$ 104 with Brazil's 3.5% IOF tax on card purchases, the rate in October 2026. The rate is set by decree and can change.

### Do I have to pay for the game-making program?

Not if you use Godot. It is free, open source, and takes no share of what the game sells. The license only asks that Godot's copyright notice go along with the game, for example in the credits.

### How much does it cost to publish a mobile game?

On Google Play, $25, paid one time. On Apple's store, $99 a year, and you need a Mac to prepare the game for iPhone. Prices as of October 2026.

### How much does it cost to put a game on Steam?

It costs $100 per game. The money comes back in your payout once the game passes $1,000 in adjusted revenue. For your first games, there is a 30-day wait between paying and being able to launch.

### Is the AI's entry plan enough to make a game?

For a small game, it is enough to get started. The usage limit resets every five hours and there is a weekly limit; when it runs out, you wait to continue. Someone making several large games at the same time needs a bigger plan.

### Do I need an expensive computer?

Not for 2D games. Godot's official minimum is 4 GB of memory and integrated graphics, with 8 GB recommended. The exception is iPhone: exporting for it requires a Mac.

## Sources

1. Godot Engine, license: https://godotengine.org/license/ (accessed October 15, 2026)
2. Godot documentation, system requirements: https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/about/system_requirements.html (accessed October 14, 2026)
3. Anthropic, Claude pricing page (prices as of October 2026): https://claude.com/pricing (accessed October 15, 2026)
4. OpenAI, ChatGPT Learn, "Pricing" (prices as of October 2026): https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing (accessed October 14, 2026)
5. GitHub, Copilot plans (prices as of October 2026): https://github.com/features/copilot/plans (accessed October 14, 2026)
6. Scenario, pricing page (prices as of October 2026): https://www.scenario.com/pricing (accessed October 15, 2026)
7. ElevenLabs, pricing page (prices as of October 2026): https://elevenlabs.io/pricing (accessed October 15, 2026)
8. Suno, pricing page (prices as of October 2026): https://suno.com/pricing (accessed October 15, 2026)
9. Google Play Console Help: registration fee and verification: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6112435?hl=en (accessed October 14, 2026)
10. Google Play Console Help: testing requirement for new personal accounts: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/14151465?hl=en (accessed October 14, 2026)
11. Apple Developer, what is included in the program (prices as of October 2026): https://developer.apple.com/programs/whats-included/ (accessed October 14, 2026)
12. Godot documentation, exporting for iOS: https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/export/exporting_for_ios.html (accessed October 14, 2026)
13. Steamworks, Steam Direct: https://partner.steamgames.com/steamdirect (accessed October 14, 2026)
14. Banco Central do Brasil (Central Bank of Brazil), PTAX dollar rate of October 14, 2026 (selling rate: R$ 5.0441): https://olinda.bcb.gov.br/olinda/servico/PTAX/versao/v1/odata/CotacaoDolarDia(dataCotacao=@dataCotacao)?@dataCotacao='10-14-2026'&$format=json (accessed October 14, 2026)
15. CRC-SP, Brazil's 3.5% IOF tax on international card purchases (July 18, 2025): https://online.crcsp.org.br/portal/noticias/noticia.asp?c=9414 (accessed October 15, 2026)
16. Planalto (Brazilian presidency), Decree No. 6,306/2007, the IOF regulation, art. 15-B, item VII (consolidated text, as worded by Decree No. 12,499/2025): https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2007/decreto/d6306.htm (accessed October 15, 2026)