Co-Director Freddie Francis directed the opening minutes of the film, and some additional footage, uncredited. The majority of the film was directed by Ashley Lazarus.
Christopher Lee was fired by Richard Harris. Lee soon appeared in another Alistair MacLean adaptation, Bear Island (1979).
During filming of Game for Vultures (1979), Richard Harris was sued for one and a half million dollars by the producers of this movie. They claimed he had re-written the script, had caused the production to go forty-four days behind schedule, and was drinking a bottle of vodka a day. The case was settled out of court.
Richard Harris and Ann Turkel were married during the time this movie was made and released. This picture was one of four films they made together during the time they were married, the others being Ravagers (1979), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), and 99 and 44/100% Dead! (1974).