Why movie tie-in games are rarely sold anymore

Movie tie-in games have vanished because modern AAA development costs have exploded—from $40 million for Half-Life 2 in 2004 to about $300 million for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2—while licensing deals add tens of millions, exemplified by Atari’s $22 million E.T. fee (over $75 million today). Combined with longer production cycles of five to seven years, studios can no longer align game releases with film windows, making such projects financially untenable.