Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
Jujutsu Kaisen season 3
Anime Shows New anime in 2026: the biggest upcoming and ongoing shows, including release dates
Demon Slayer
Animated Shows How to watch Demon Slayer in order (TV show and movies)
Attack on Titan, Haikyu, and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Anime Shows Best anime: 25 shows to watch in 2026
Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy Emily Rudd as Nami and Jacob Romero as Usopp standing on the deck of the Merry in One Piece season 2
Netflix One Piece season 2 review: "It's hard to imagine a better version of One Piece in live action"
One Piece
Netflix The 25 best shows on Netflix to watch in 2026
One Piece filler arc
Anime Shows One Piece fans have kickstarted a mission to retrieve the real-life One Piece – but it will cost $100,000 a day
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lead Gustave faces a gommage
RPGs Clair Obscur Expedition 33 took inspiration from a surprising anime - Soul Eater creator's Fire Force
Dan Da Dan season 2: Okarun and Momo getting ready for a fight during Dan Da Dan season 1 episode 8.
Anime Shows Best anime on Netflix: 30 shows to stream in 2026
Norgal the warrior beheading a monster
Animated Shows The studio behind Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX almost made the perfect fantasy anime, but only 2 minutes of it exist
Emily Rudd as Nami and Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy in Netflix's One Piece
Live Action Shows One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has a "specific arc" he wants the Netflix live-action anime adaptation to reach
Dan Da Dan season 3: three kids standing together in blue light during Dan Da Dan season 2
Anime Shows Dan Da Dan season 3: release date, story speculation, and everything else we know about the Netflix anime
Best Crunchyroll anime: Power in season 1 of Chainsaw Man smirking while also covered in dirt.
Anime Shows The best Crunchyroll anime to watch in 2026
A close-up of Luffy holding his fist during the anime One Piece.
Anime Shows As One Piece season 2 hits Netflix, you can now catch up on 13 seasons of the original anime for free
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
Anime Shows Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2: Everything we know about CD Projekt Red's anime
3 Body Problem
Sci-Fi Shows Game of Thrones creators' spenny Netflix sci-fi show is reportedly getting a reduced episode count for seasons 2 and 3
  1. Entertainment
  2. TV
  3. Animated Shows
  4. Arcane

As Arcane showrunners protest that their $250 million budget is quite cheap for 18 episodes, 1 anime director points out that its costs 25 times more per episode than his show

News
By Issy van der Velde published 16 November 2024

Arcane is great, but think of how many shows could have been funded with its budget

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Arcane
(Image credit: Riot Games)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

By now, you've probably heard that Arcane's two seasons cost $250 million to make, and one anime creator claims just one season of the League of Legends spin-off show would have paid for 25 seasons of his own.

Thomas Astruc, creator and director of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, took to Twitter to write that "one season of Arcane costs 25 seasons of Miraculous." 

One fan asked, "what would you do differently if we gave you an Arcane level budget, and no limits on what the script would be like?" Astruc's reply appears to take a jab at the overall length of Arcane. He writes, "You do the best you can with what you're given. With $250M budget, Miraculous would probably be very different. But still, I think I would do more than 2 seasons only. Somehow, I wouldn't feel comfortable to pour such insane amount of money in so few episodes."

You may like
  • Jinx and Vi in Arcane season 2 Arcane studio lead denounces “soulless" and "disrespectful” AI-generated fanart: "Don’t be afraid to pick up a pencil"
  • Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 Anime piracy has ballooned to a $30 billion cost in 2025, the highest figure ever
  • Clair Obscur Expedition 33 For one Spider-Man 2, you could make 30 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33s, as dev reveals it cost less than $10 million

The Arcane showrunners have explained why they've decided to call it quits after season 2 already. Some of the team have been working on it for nine years, it's time to move on.

Altruc also shed some light on the animation industry. "Miraculous has a very high budget compared to a japanese series, a high budget compared to french series, and a very low budget compared to a US series," he explains. "And any US series has a very low budget compared to Arcane, apparently."

One person replied that the difference is passion and quality, but Altruc had a response for that, too. "All animation workers are passionate and want to do quality stuff," he says. "The only difference is the time you give them and the workload. These two factors are determined by the budget."

Showrunner Alex Yee shares this view. "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," he tells GamesRadar. "In a lot of ways, the money is just a reflection of the amount of effort that was put into this."

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

If you've already watched all the Arcane episodes out now, why not check out some of the best anime series you could watch right now. 

CATEGORIES
Netflix Streaming Services
Issy van der Velde
Issy van der Velde
Social Links Navigation
Contributor

I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.

Read more
Jinx and Vi in Arcane season 2
Arcane studio lead denounces “soulless" and "disrespectful” AI-generated fanart: "Don’t be afraid to pick up a pencil"
 
 
Jujutsu Kaisen season 3
Anime piracy has ballooned to a $30 billion cost in 2025, the highest figure ever
 
 
Clair Obscur Expedition 33
For one Spider-Man 2, you could make 30 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33s, as dev reveals it cost less than $10 million
 
 
Attack on Titan, Haikyu, and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Best anime: 25 shows to watch in 2026
 
 
Arc Raiders character sitting at terminal of monitors
Reported Arc Raiders budget of $75 million is "not too far off," says Embark head: "We can live for a long time"
 
 
Solo Leveling
2025 was anime's biggest year yet – and may have provided the blueprint for a decade of domination
 
 
Latest in Animated Shows
Norgal the warrior beheading a monster
The studio behind Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX almost made the perfect fantasy anime, but only 2 minutes of it exist
 
 
Nikki drawn in bright neon colors
Stranger Things: Tales From '85 confirms casting for the latest member of the Hawkins gang with a wave of new posters
 
 
Sam Witwer as Darth Maul in Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord
Maul – Shadow Lord star says the former Sith has a new perspective on the Jedi in the upcoming Star Wars show
 
 
Omni-Man putting his hand on Invincible's shoulder in Invincible season 4 trailer
Robert Kirkman opens up on Invincible season 4's show-original Hell storyline
 
 
Brian Tyree Henry as Bass in Bass X Machina
A new animated steampunk Western show is coming to Netflix from the studio behind X-Men '97
 
 
The Simpsons family
After reaching 800 episodes, The Simpsons showrunner says they will never do a season finale
 
 
Latest in News
a ditto human sitting on some logs with pikachu and pichu
Pokopia's unhinged dialogue is tempting me away from Animal Crossing: "It's a pretty nice butt, don't you think?"
 
 
A lady looks shocked.
55-year industry vet made the first CRPG, got laid off, went bankrupt, but "I don't care": "Business does not love you"
 
 
Dragon Quest 11
Dragon Quest creator says English is "a simple language," so "the flavor tends to get lost" when translating games
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem is too scary for series veteran Hideki Kamiya, who argues Capcom "should make a 'non-scary' mode"
 
 
Yoshi and the Mysterious Boook screenshot of Yoshi smiling with eyes closed
The next big Switch 2 exclusive, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, gets a May release date out of nowhere
 
 
Monkey D. Luffy looking confused on an island in One Piece Egghead Island
One Piece season 2 answers a near 30-year-old manga mystery in surprisingly straightforward fashion
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. A lady looks shocked.
    1
    55-year games industry vet helped make the first CRPG, got laid off, went bankrupt, but said "I don't care" as long as he got to keep crafting games: "A business does not love you back, unless you are a business person"
  2. 2
    I thought nothing could replace Animal Crossing for my nightly cozy vibes, but Pokopia's delightfully unhinged dialogue is very tempting: "It's a pretty nice butt, don't you think? So shiny!"
  3. 3
    The Asus ROG Azoth 96 HE has returned to take the magnetic crown, but that price tag is going to be a problem
  4. 4
    Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii says English is "a simple language," so "the flavor tends to get lost in many ways" when translating games from Japanese
  5. 5
    One Piece season 2 answers a near 30-year-old manga mystery in surprisingly straightforward fashion

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...