In July 2002, Infogrames announced that it had purchased the license to make video games based on the 2003 film Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Atari, an affiliate of Infogrames, announced the game in April 2003. The PlayStation 2 (PS2) and Xbox versions of the game were developed by Black Ops Entertainment, along with several companies which were owned by Atari. Legend Entertainment worked on the game's weapon models and effects, while Atari Melbourne House worked on the sound design. Shiny Entertainment worked on the fighting portions of the game.
The filmmakers wanted the game to be faithful to the film's story, while allowing the player to experience aspects that the film did not fully explore, such as the future war between humans and machines. Special-effects artist Stan Winston, who worked on the film, provided his designs to the Black Ops team. Arnold Schwarzenegger provided his voice and likeness to the home console game for its portrayal of the T-850. In addition, Schwarzenegger also starred in a live-action scene for the game that explains the origins of his character. The home console game also includes footage from the film, and Nick Stahl reprises his role of John Connor through voice acting. A version of the game had been planned for the GameCube, but its cancellation was announced in September 2003. stated that there was insufficient time to continue development of the GameCube version.