Rumor has it that Rockstar Games might pay Grand Theft Auto 6 up to $100 at launch, which could set a worrying standard for the future of gaming.
So far, there has been nothing concrete to show GTA 6 has a triple-digit price tag, but some industry experts suggested it could happen.
What has been said about GTA 6’s price tag
CEO Strauss Zelnick did not directly confirm anything during the 2024 Take-Two Interactive earnings call. Grand Theft Auto 6but he discussed the publisher’s philosophy of setting prices.
Zelnick explained that the company is always looking “delivers good value” and continues to focus on providing “worth more than they charge:”
“Look, there’s always more content being made available, and we’re really trying to deliver great value at any given time. We’re so focused on delivering more value than what we’re charging. And that’s kind of the rubric.”
He continued and discussed the goal of securing a price “good news for the consumer” and the game “over deliver” for the price:
“And whenever we set a price, we want to make sure that it’s good news for the consumer; that the experience is vastly superior in the context of the cost. That’s the goal.”
This comment should help calm your fears GTA 6 released for $100, because such a price tag would not really fit the reality “good news” for the player base. However, veteran investment analyst Matthew Ball recently suggested in his 219-page report “State of Vide Gaming in 2025” that a price increase may be in order.
In the report, Ball stated “there is hope” that GTA 6 could price “$80 or even $100.” He argued that this could be a positive thing as it would allow other developers to follow suit and break this “key price barrier”.
He went on to explain that while players may not want such a trek, “packaged prices have never been lower in real time than they are today” even though game development budgets are high “all-time record”.
Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Michael Douse supported the higher prices, saying the game should be priced “according to quality, breadth and depth” (which GTA 6there is rumored to be a lot on the map).
As shared on X (formerly Twitter), Douse went on to explain that most games should “pays more at the basic level” as are development costs “Faster than pricing trends”. He added it “Everybody’s just waiting GTA 6 (to raise prices)” to trigger a price spike that could be felt throughout the gaming industry.
Afraid of the $100 price tag GTA 6 fans fear that the game may be delayed beyond its current 2025 release window. However, fans can rest easy for now, as recently confirmed by developer Rockstar GTA 6the user’s current publishing window.
Why GTA 6 really doesn’t cost $100
Grand Theft Auto 6 is certainly one of the biggest games of all time, both in terms of financial sales and the scope of the game itself.
See you long awaited GTA the sequel has been in development at Rockstar Games ever since Red Dead Redemption 2 was The production costs published in 2018 are certainly high.
However, Strauss Zelnick’s commitment to ensure the price is “good news” for the consumer at the same time “provide more value than (they) charge” seems unlikely GTA 6the price goes up to $100.
Back when GTA 5 the open-world epic that hit shelves in 2013 had a standard edition price of $60, based on prices at the time. Currently, most AAA games sell for around $70 GTA 6 may well stick to that margin.
After all GTA 6 is sure to be one of the best-selling games of all time, and the price increase may limit sales. Not to mention, after release, Rockstar will support the remake GTA title for years to come and continue to earn with paid DLC and microtransactions.
According to The Wall Street Journal GTA Online generated $500 million in the 2022/23 financial year, nearly ten years after its release. Revenue was generated based on Shark Card microtransactions and GTA+ subscriptions; it contains no duplicates GTA 5 sold for online access.
As such, it is clear GTA 6 doesn’t need such a drastic price increase to succeed and could still hover around the $70 price tag, though development costs are likely to be high.
Game prices rose to around $60 around the time of the Xbox 360 and PS3 launches in late 2005, and won’t reach $70 until around 2023, several years into the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S’s continued life.
Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games will make any price jump GTA 6 Breaking the $70 mark would be a historic move. But if that happens, players should expect a price tag closer to $80, not as high as $100.
It should be noted that the pricing figures discussed above are based on the standard edition of the AAA game, with special editions often retailing for $100 or more.
Retail price GTA 6 presumably won’t be announced until after pre-orders are announced, which should happen later this year if the 2025 release window holds. But before that, fans should learn more GTA 6 in the coming months, as the community has predicted, another trailer is not far away.
Grand Theft Auto 6 currently expected to be released in 2025.
