A hot potato: In news that will likely increase the anger many people feel toward some elements of the gaming industry, an analyst's report claims that developers and publishers "hope" that Grand Theft Auto VI could cost as much as $100 when it arrives. Such a move could embolden other companies to starting charging more for their games, pushing up average selling prices to offset rising development costs.
Matthew Ball of Epyllion's State of Video Gaming in 2025 report has a large focus on what will undoubtedly be the biggest release of the year, GTA VI – despite there still being no official PC version.
The next instalment in the GTA series is expected to break plenty of records, including being the most expensive game ever made. There are no official figures, but estimates range somewhere between the high hundreds of millions to as high as $2 billion. For context, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's development costs were $700 million. While that's less than 2020's Genshin Impact, which is officially the most expensive game ever at $900 million, that includes $200 million added annually for ongoing costs – Genshin Impact's initial costs were just $100 million.
Rockstar and Take-Two could use GTA VI's enormous development costs as justification to price the game between $80 and $100. Ball said such a move "could re-establish packed video game prices after decades of deflation despite rampant cost growth."
It's been five years since the first major game to carry a $70 price tag, NBA 2K21, launched, signalling the beginning of the end for the standard $60 AAA price that had been around since the launch of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era in the mid-2000s. It's still a point of contention today, especially when it's slapped on a game that isn't particularly well received, such as Skull and Bones.
Ball notes that GTA VI breaking the $70 barrier and possibly going all the way to $100 could have a trickledown effect in which all companies increase their games' selling price by $10, with $80 becoming the new standard for AAA titles.
$100 for a game brings to mind the Neo Geo, the 1990s console for which games retailed for up to $100 to $300 due to the machine's arcade-quality components and large cartridges containing substantial memory for the time.
However, Ball points out that $70 GTA VI would be the "cheapest" GTA game ever released in real terms (taking inflation into account). In real terms, $91 would be average, though gamers are unlikely to appreciate his point of view.
"Packaged game prices have never been lower in real terms than they are today – even though budgets are at all-time highs and player growth is stalled," Ball said. "GTA VI could re-establish packed video game prices after decades of deflation despite rampant cost growth."
This isn't the first time we've heard claims of GTA VI carrying a huge retail price. There were rumors in September that it could cost $150. That seems extremely unlikely, unless it's for a special-edition version of some kind.
A recent report found that while graphical fidelity contributes to inflated budgets and extended development timelines, other factors, including employee wages, massive open worlds, and non-gaming related issues, play significant roles in pushing up game development costs.
Analyst says the games industry "hopes" GTA VI will cost up to $100, raising average prices
