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Grand Theft Auto 6, the most anticipated game right now, hasn’t been released yet, but it’s already making waves in the gaming industry. Developer Rockstar Games hasn’t exactly revealed GTA 6‘s price yet, but some analysts have predicted that somewhere in the ballpark of $80 to $100 (USD) might be the new price tag.
But that’s not even the worst part of the prediction, because according to analyst Matthew Ball (also CEO of Epyllion), Rockstar’s upcoming GTA 6 could just be the flagbearer of another price hike for AAA video games. Of course, that depends on the price of GTA 6. Regardless, GTA 6 will be monumental once it comes out in Autumn/Fall 2025.
It’s worth noting that most AAA video games these days now cost $70, a $10 increase from the previous $60 back in early 2020. Coincidentally, Rockstar Games’ parent company, Take-Two Interactive, was the first to carry out this $70 video game price hike with NBA 2K21 nonetheless.
So Matthew Ball’s prediction isn’t exactly far-fetched or outlandish. Take-Two Interactive owns GTA 6, after all. Since other AAA video game studios have followed Take-Two Interactive’s pricing example, what we have is a potential déjà vu for GTA 6 whether its pricing is $80 or $100. Other AAA studios might follow.
In fact, even Baldur’s Gate 3‘s publishing director, Michael Douse, agrees with Matthew Ball that there has to be some kind of price hike for video games again.
But before it sounds all too gloomy and doomy for the regular John Gamer-man, we have a counterpoint for these analyses. Would the $100 price hike ensure that AAA games will be on the same level of quality and content that GTA and Rockstar Games are known for?
Other AAA Studios Can’t Copy GTA’s Quality, So Why Copy the Price?
Well, they can probably try to rival GTA, but most AAA studios choose not to. Every other studio is avoiding GTA 6 because they don’t want their game overshadowed when it comes to sales– they know that GTA will be better both in quality and reputation. Most publishers and game studios are well aware that they couldn’t compete with GTA.
In that case, why then, would they copy GTA 6‘s price? Profit would be the obvious motivator, of course. However, overcharging can easily backfire, especially when the customers start realizing just how little effort a game took to produce compared to blockbusters like GTA or even Baldur’s Gate 3.
It Might be Fine if Rockstar Games Does It…
Rockstar Games in comparison, has the pedigree to charge $80 or even $90 for GTA 6 (though I admit, $100 is a bit much). The last game they released, the 7-year-old Red Dead Redemption 2, is easily better than most games today in many aspects and thus, it’s an indication of Rockstar’s dedication to their craft.
Even GTA 5, with its longevity and limitless potential for content, has won the trust of many gamers. Regardless of your stance or impression, Rockstar Games earned that community goodwill, which could let them afford to hike the pricing for GTA 6.
If other publishing studios hike their AAA game prices without earning the goodwill of their customers or producing a quality product, it’s not going to end well. It didn’t end up well for Skull & Bones, Concord, Redfall, Forspoken, the list goes on for new IPs.
Established IPs like NBA 2Kxx, Forza, or Diablo might get away with the price hike or exuberant pricing, but only barely and the community will rip them apart as soon as customers feel they were cheated out of their hard-earned money. More price hikes for these games just because GTA 6 did it wouldn’t be exactly justified if the quality isn’t there.
Is the Price Hike Really for Developer Welfare?
2022’s $70 price hike for AAA video games was mostly chalked up to post-COVID inflation. 2024’s potential price hikes also have the same excuse, according to Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Michael Douse. Salaries were stagnating and the cost to produce video games was getting more expensive, so corporations do what they do best: pass the burden onto the customers.
Still, this is a give-and-take situation, even though it doesn’t look like it. The consumer expectation would be higher quality AAA games, of course, since video game developers who are taken care of produce better video games. That’s how it should be. That’s not what happened.
In 2024 alone, there have been way too many AAA financial flops because of full-priced games of low quality, whose sole purpose is to treat their customers like cash cows. Studios that failed to print money just as the investors expected were shuttered. Then came the mass layoffs of the past two years. Where did the extra $10 for AAA video games go? Because 2023 and 2024 have proven that the price hike didn’t exactly improve the gaming industry.
So, the writing is on the wall for any full-priced AAA game with microtransactions and cookie-cutter open-world design that tries to match GTA 6 in pricing. Sure, executives can crank up the price to $80 or $100 or whatever for other AAA games, but if they’re not on the same level as GTA games, we’re just going to play the GTA games then or wait for a discount.
