“If you compare us to animated movies, we are dirt cheap.”
The reportedly $250 million Riot invested in their Arcane animated series has not only earned itself the title of the most expensive animated TV series but also refreshed many people’s perception of how pricey these episodes could be. As the series is ongoing, the production team decides to clarify certain points while emphasizing facts that are overshined by the high costs.
Showrunners Christian Linke and Alex Yee told Games Radar+ that the reported cost is “not exactly right” as it also includes “marketing costs associated with the release, which is not part of the budget of Arcane.” Usually, the marketing and promotion cost of entertainment products could take up to an estimated 30%-50% of the overall cost, thus making the cost spent on production much lower than the number.
After making the composition of the rumored sum clear, Linke admitted that “Arcane is a really expensive animated series – which was the point. Our dream was to create an animated series that has the fidelity of what you see in animated movies.”
Indeed, another major genre of video game adaptation is movies, which quite a few video game franchises have tried recently, like the Borderlands, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is the most financially successful video game-based film adaptation, and the upcoming movies based on EA’s Sims franchise. So the team also considered a comparison with the movies, with Alex Yee calculating the Arcane animated series as “the length of several movies.” In this case, Linke adds, “If you compare us to animated movies, we are dirt cheap.”
Additionally, considering the quality of the series, which is the work from the great talents, the money spent is well worthwhile according to Lee:
“You have voice actors, where we really tried to find great talent. You have artists who we wanted to have time to really be able to put in their touches and to have so many different disciplines in this really be able to do their best and show what they could do. In a lot of ways, the money is just a reflection of the amount of effort that was put into this.”
A high cost naturally raises the question — Is it really worth the price? The showrunners say it does, and the audience seems to agree, as proved by its review score at this moment, despite only three episodes being out. Obviously, the cost has made both parties happy.
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