HBO’s The Last of Us massive budget is bigger than Game of Thrones'

A recent article from The New Yorker reported that production costs have gone "upward of a hundred million dollars", which is telling of HBO's confidence in this project. Considering reports from TV Guide put the production costs of each installment of the fifth Game of Thrones run in the $6 to $8 million range, HBO is spending nearly double for nine episodes.

Mazin shares similar confidence in the vision claiming the strong narrative from the source material will set this video game adaptation apart from other game-inspired properties: I cheated – I just took the one with the best story. Like, I love Assassin's Creed. But when they announced that they were gonna make it as a movie I was, like, I don't know how! Because the joy of it is the gameplay. The story is impenetrable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtkt8BonwM&ab_channel=HBOMax

Having Neil Druckmann on board, the original Naughty Dog game creator, ensures the adaptation will stay its course. And while both contributors have stated that the show will deviate from the game in some aspects, jaw-dropping moments cut from the game will be included. The game has built a passionate following over the last 10 years, that will be keen to tune in, despite having a sour taste in their mouths from the second installment of the game.

With thefirst episode airing on Sunday, January 15, fans won't have to wait much longer. If the premiere's movie-like length is anything to go by, the $10-$15 million per episode cost isn't even that much. Amazon Studios just dished out a $465 million budget for eight Rings of Power episodes, which is the current record holder at $58 million per episode. The sixth season of Game of Thrones and Netflix's Witcher were in the same ballpark of production costs as Last of Us, so it's not like HBO is setting itself up for failure.