September 17, 2024, 8:44 am | Read time: 5 minutes
“GTA 6” is one of the most anticipated games currently in development. Many are certain that the title – like its predecessor – will set new standards. However, there are already concerns that this applies not only to the content and technology but also to the price.
Grand Theft Auto (GTA for short) by Rockstar Games is one of the most successful video game series of all time. Many are eagerly awaiting the release of the next installment, which is scheduled for October 2025. However, this anticipation is repeatedly clouded by rumors about the price of GTA 6. This could raise the base price for AAA games even further.
Prices in the video game industry are a recurring topic of discussion
The debate about video game prices has been simmering for years. In the course of 2023, it really picked up speed, fueled again and again by rumors about the price of the upcoming GTA 6. This also includes the fact that consumer prices have already risen significantly in recent years. The days when AAA games cost 40 or 50 euros at launch are over. Studios are now calling out prices of around 80 euros for the big titles – for the standard versions. Deluxe and premium packages usually cost significantly more.
The reason for this is the enormous increase in game development costs. A comparison: CD Projekt Red released The Witcher: Wild Hunt in 2015, which cost a good 70 million euros. Cyberpunk 2077, released in 2020 by the same studio, already cost 263 million euros – excluding the DLC ‘Phantom Liberty,’ even though the game world is smaller. GTA 5, the immediate predecessor to GTA 6, cost the equivalent of 225 million euros to develop – back in 2013. How the price of GTA 6 could develop is, therefore, the subject of various speculations.
No concrete information on the price of “GTA 6”
As early as fall 2023, there were estimates that GTA 6 could cost 150 US dollars at launch. That would, of course, be a huge jump from the current price level. So, what’s the truth behind the rumors?
Rockstar’s parent company, Take 2, has not yet commented specifically on this. When asked about the topic, CEO Strauss Zelnick simply said that they always want to set an appropriate price and offer appropriate content. This could mean anything or nothing.
However, experts are quite certain that GTA 6 will cost more than the current 80 euros, which is approximately 85 US dollars. This is why many are worried that the game will set a new benchmark for others to follow. In any case, the title is big enough.
Should video games become more expensive?
While one faction complains that this would be far too expensive, there are also dissenting voices, especially from within the industry itself. For example, Michael Douse, Director of Publishing at Larian Studios (including Baldur’s Gate 3), said that in some cases, it would even be a good thing if games became more expensive. He writes on X (formerly Twitter): “I think a game should be priced according to its quality […]”.
It is also important to bear in mind that due to the rise in prices – which in turn has to do with technical development, demands, and inflation – studios are taking a huge financial risk with large, cost-intensive titles. After the games industry posted very good figures during the coronavirus lockdown, interest declined again after the pandemic. Although the market is still large, development is lagging behind the high expectations, which is putting additional pressure on individual games.
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Industry under pressure
What’s more, distribution platforms such as Steam are helping to dictate prices in some cases, only to temporarily lower them again and again through discount campaigns. For medium-sized studios, in particular, this quickly creates the problem that their titles are simply not profitable enough. This also affects the big names in the industry, including Rockstar Games, to a completely different extent. The studio is currently focusing its resources on GTA 6, and the outcome of this investment remains uncertain.
Of course, setting a higher price from the outset can also increase profit expectations. In the end, however, the game must also deliver what it promises, as Zelnick mentions in his statement.