Selling GTA 6 for $100 Could Help Save the Video Game Industry, Says Analyst

From GTA BOOM Wiki

The rising costs of video game development - and corporate greed - could push AAA games towards adopting a $100 price tag and Grand Theft Auto 6 could be the first to break precedent.

Published by Ray Ampoloquio
Published on Jan 15, 2025Last modified on Jan 16, 2025 11:23 PST


Could GTA 6 launch with a $100 price tag?

A comprehensive analysis by veteran investment researcher Matthew Ball of Epyllion recently shed light on potential growth avenues for the video game industry as companies struggle to satisfy investors and make (enough) profit while development costs are unsustainably inflating year-on-year.

As part of his analysis, he makes a rather controversial suggestion - one that only really makes any sense if you look at the world through a cold and lifeless corporate lens: Grand Theft Auto 6 launching at a groundbreaking price point of $80 or even $100, which would mark a significant price bump compared to current gen AAA baselines.

Traditionally, AAA game releases have adhered to a $60 price tag, with a recent bump to $70 for next-gen titles. While escalating costs of game development coupled with market saturation are often cited as reasons why some would justify higher MSRPs for newly launched AAA titles, it is hard to look away from the sheer number increase in sales figures that should offset that. Plus, you know, the multi-million dollar bonuses executives take home after a busy year of layoffs and union busting, every year.

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, were among the first to implement the $70 price point for its next-gen releases, and this wouldn't be the first time an industry expert had suggested that GTA 6 could break precedent. Take-Two's confidence in GTA 6 as a product is clear, with CEO Strauss Zelnick saying that the game will set a new "creative benchmark" for the entire entertainment industry, and not just video games.

Out of context, there is rationale to this. Development costs for AAA titles have skyrocketed, with some games requiring budgets comparable to Hollywood blockbusters. Additionally, the long-term engagement model of modern games, with extensive post-launch support and content updates, demands ongoing investment from publishers.

However, this simplification ignores the aggressive and - as shown by a number of lawsuits that have been filed in various countries globally - predatory microtransaction and monetization schemes used by many publishers. Another important factor is examining the breakdown of those colossal budgets, with immense amounts of money funneled towards marketing instead of the actual game, and huge costs incurred by chasing evermore realistic graphical fidelity despite technological plateaus giving diminishing returns.

Ball's analysis also suggests that the game's release will have a "mixed" effect on total player hours and revenue across the industry. While it's expected to drive significant sales and engagement, it may also cannibalize player time and spending from other titles, creating a challenging environment for games launching in its wake, mirroring similar discussions in the past about other companies wanting to avoid clashing with GTA 6, including Microsoft.

Whether GTA 6 brings in a new era of premium-priced blockbusters or prompts a rethinking of traditional video game monetization remains unclear, but the evidence continues to pile up about how important the release of Rockstar's next title is going to be for gaming and its roughly half-trillion market.

Now if only all this talk is enough to get Rockstar to finally give us that second GTA 6 trailer we've all been waiting for - hopefully without having to pay per view.

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