GTA 6 could cost $100, which means I'll never buy it
Would you pay $100 for Grand Theft Auto 6?
😲 GTA 6 could cost between $80 and $100 according to an analyst
📉 That’s because video game prices haven’t kept pace with inflation
🤑 It could encourage other companies to charge more for its games
💰 The price of games recently went up from $60 to $70
GTA 6 is the most anticipated video game of all time. But would you pay $100 to play it? According to one industry analyst, that’s how much Rockstar’s next entry should cost.
In a presentation called “The State of Video Gaming in 2025” (thanks, Dexerto), Epyllion analyst Matthew Ball says video games have struggled to “maintain inflation-adjusted prices” and that games have never actually never been cheaper.
Ball said that rising development costs have the bigwigs at gaming companies hoping for another price bump after the PS5 and Xbox Series X generation of consoles introduced $70 games.
Ball says other gaming executives hope that GTA 6 publisher Take-Two will price GTA 6 at $80 to $100, which would break the current price barrier and allow other publishers to follow suit.
Ball admits that “no player hopes for such a hike, but recall that packaged prices have never been lower in real terms than they are today – even though budgets are at all-time highs.”
Why I’d never buy GTA 6 for $100
I understand that game development has become more expensive over the years, but I’d never pay $100 for a game. Personally, I don’t believe the rise in development costs has translated to better games.
Yes, graphics have improved and in-game worlds are exponentially bigger than before. But so many titles release broken or are crudely designed to draw more cash from players than just the $70 entry fee.
It’s not like publishers don’t already release bundles and limited editions that allow them to inflate the price, too, and GTA 5 released multiple times across different consoles and generations. The game’s online mode is also an evergreen money-spinner, and there’s seemingly a subscription to everything these days, including games.
I don’t doubt that GTA 6 could be worth $100 to some players, especially if it successfully builds upon Rockstar’s open-world formula. But a higher price tag would open the door to publishers to charge more for games that simply aren’t worth that fee. We already saw Ubisoft describe Skull & Bones, a game that was a monumental flop, as a quadruple-A title when it obviously wasn’t.
Inflation adjusted figures aside, gaming has never felt more expensive, and this is the first console generation where the PS5 and Xbox Series X increased in price after launch. Everything costs more in today’s world, often unjustifiably so, and it’s up to game developers and publishers to deliver something that people think is worth their hard-earned money.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.