How much does it cost to port a game? A realistic guide

It's the first question every publisher asks, and it deserves a straight answer: there is no single price to port a game. That's not a dodge — it's the truth, and once you see what the number actually depends on, you can ballpark your own project and understand why any studio worth hiring will assess before it quotes.

Why there's no sticker price

Porting cost is driven by your specific game and your goals, not a rate card. A tidy single-platform port of a finished title and a multi-platform console rebuild with certification are different by an order of magnitude. Anyone who name-checks a firm figure before seeing your build is either padding heavily for the unknowns or setting up to come back for more later. So instead of a fake number, here's the honest breakdown.

The seven things that move the price

1. eON or a native port. The single biggest lever. A translation-layer port with eON reuses your existing code; a native port rebuilds against the platform's own APIs. Native costs materially more — sometimes several times more — and is the right call for some titles, not all.
2. How many platforms — and which. Mac, Linux and Steam Deck are one tier; PlayStation, Xbox and Switch add console SDKs and certification. Each additional platform adds cost, though much is shared once the first is done.
3. Your engine and dependencies. A game built on well-supported, common APIs is far less costly to move than one leaning on exotic middleware with no clean translation path.
4. The performance target. "It runs" and "it holds native resolution and frame rate on this hardware" are very different amounts of work. Set the bar early.
5. Certification. Console submission and Steam Deck Verified have hard requirements. Passing them first time is skilled, scoped work — and a place inexperienced studios lose weeks.
6. Art, UI and input rework. Controller support, platform-specific UI, store integration and any localisation all add up.
7. Ongoing maintenance. The launch cost is not the whole cost. Keeping the port in step with your PC patches over its life is real budget — and, as we'll see, where eON quietly saves you the most.

Two rough shapes, to set expectations

Every project is different, but most sit between two ends:

• The lean end. A stable, content-complete PC title heading to a single platform — say Mac or the Steam Deck — via eON. This is a matter of weeks, at a fraction of the cost of a rebuild.
• The larger end. A multi-platform port that includes console work and certification, with a high performance bar. This is a several-month engagement with a budget to match.

Knowing which end your project is closer to tells you far more than any single figure could.

Why eON usually costs less — and keeps costing less

For the right title, eON doesn't just cost less up front; it costs less over the life of the game:

• Less to build. You're translating your existing build, not rebuilding it — so the upfront engineering is smaller.
• Less to test. Because the port runs the developers' own code, the gameplay and logic are unchanged. QA focuses on the platform layer — rendering, input, performance — rather than re-testing the entire game. Less testing time, fewer port-specific bugs.
• Lower-cost patches. When you update the PC version, an eON port largely carries the change straight over. A native port often needs re-porting work for every significant update. For a live game, that difference dominates the whole-life cost.

None of this means eON is always the answer — some titles genuinely need a native port. But when it fits, the savings compound.

The one thing to be wary of: a fixed quote before an assessment

If a studio gives you a firm price before it has looked at your build, be careful. Porting is full of specifics that only surface once someone reads the code and the pipeline. A number quoted blind is either inflated to cover that risk, or optimistic and heading for a change request. Neither serves you.

How we get you a real number

We start with an assessment: a scoped look at your build, engine, dependencies and target platforms. Out of it you get an honest recommendation — eON or native — and a real, itemised cost and timeline, not a guess. It de-risks the project for both sides before anyone commits, and it's the fastest route from "how much?" to a number you can actually plan around. You can see how we work and what we've shipped for context.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to port a game to Mac?
A straightforward Mac port via eON sits at the lean end — weeks of work and a fraction of a native rebuild. A title needing deep native optimisation costs more. An assessment turns that range into a real figure.

Does eON cost less than a native port?
Usually, yes — often by a wide margin, because you're not rebuilding the game, you test less, and future patches carry over. Native is worth the extra when a title genuinely needs it.

What's the most cost-effective way to port my game?
For a stable PC title heading to Mac, Linux or Steam Deck, an eON port is typically the most cost-effective route. The assessment confirms whether that fits your game.

Do you charge for an assessment?
An assessment is a small, scoped piece of work that gives you a real number and de-risks the whole engagement — tell us about your title and we'll explain exactly what it involves.

Want a real figure for your game? Tell us about your title and your target platforms, and we'll come back with an honest assessment — the route, the cost and the timeline — before anyone talks contracts.