Take-Two CEO says GTA 6 price will be "very reasonable" amid $100+ speculation

[DragonSlayer101]

Highly anticipated: Following numerous delays and missed deadlines, GTA 6 is expected to finally launch on November 26 for PS5 and Xbox Series. While online speculation suggests it could cost significantly more than the typical $70 - $80 price for most AAA titles, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has hinted that it may not be as expensive as rumored.

Speaking to reporters at the Interactive Innovation video game conference in Las Vegas this week, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said the company aims to deliver value to its customers, adding that Grand Theft Auto VI will launch with a "very reasonable" price tag.

According to Zelnick, "How you feel about something you buy is the intersection of the thing itself and what you pay for. Consumers need to feel like the thing itself is amazing and the price they were charged was fair for what they got."

Zelnick also said GTA VI will be the "most spectacular piece of entertainment on Earth," hinting at a premium price tag to match the content on offer. He added that despite recent price increases, video games have effectively become cheaper when adjusted for inflation, seemingly justifying higher prices across the industry.

Zelnick's statements suggest the new GTA may not cost $100+ after all, but the emphasis on "value" rather than affordability implies it could still be priced above most new AAA games. Either way, given the speculation around a $100+ price tag, even $80 would likely feel like a win for many gamers.

AAA game pricing remained largely unchanged at $60 for more than a decade before major publishers raised it to $70 with the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series. Nintendo has gone a step further, charging $80 for Mario Kart World. Microsoft is also expected to price upcoming titles in the Gears of War and Bethesda franchises at $80.

Rockstar Games began working on GTA VI as far back as 2014, but the game was only officially confirmed in 2022 following years of leaks, rumors, and speculation. Reports suggest its production cost could approach $2 billion, potentially making it the most expensive game ever developed – surpassing titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), and Genshin Impact.

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Take-Two CEO says GTA 6 price will be "very reasonable" amid $100+ speculation

 

[m4a4]

Sounds a lot like they really want to price it much higher than the current norms, but are still gauging how much backlash they'll get.

Honestly, just feels like they're out of touch at this point. They should've settled and told gamers by now that it will be $80 with their MP microtransactions...

 

[GFitzpatrick47]

Sounds a lot like they really want to price it much higher than the current norms, but are still gauging how much backlash they'll get.

Honestly, just feels like they're out of touch at this point. They should've settled and told gamers by now that it will be $80 with their MP microtransactions...

Honestly, they could easily price it at $100+ if they tie in some bonus **** with whatever new iteration of GTA Online they have cooked up. Hell, release a special edition at that price and tie the bonus to that. FOMO will mean that most people would pick up the special edition anyways.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

Honestly, they could easily price it at $100+ if they tie in some bonus **** with whatever new iteration of GTA Online they have cooked up. Hell, release a special edition at that price and tie the bonus to that. FOMO will mean that most people would pick up the special edition anyways.

But how could you possibly miss out on a game that will probably be played religiously for the next 20 years? I'm one of the lucky few in the camp of not being able to care less about this game. Maybe I'll look at again in another 10 years after release when its selling for $10.00.

 

[m4a4]

Honestly, they could easily price it at $100+ if they tie in some bonus **** with whatever new iteration of GTA Online they have cooked up. Hell, release a special edition at that price and tie the bonus to that. FOMO will mean that most people would pick up the special edition anyways.

The diehards will, but if a lot of regulars see a high base price, they more than likely will decide to wait on a sale.
The economy we're in guarantees that there will be a hefty sales tradeoff if priced "too high", and they have too much invested to want to make a pricing mistake.

That said, they'd need to make a pretty big pricing blunder to affect overall sales, as it is expected to also sell well over it's lifetime...

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Title is basically saying something while saying nothing.

Rockstar is still selling RDR2 for $20 (Ultimate, perpetual sale price), RDR1 Remake for $50, and old GTA **** for $20.

Rockstar will price this one between $80-$100 and *to them* it will be very reasonably priced based on the amount and quality of the content they are offering.

 

[yRaz]

Sounds a lot like they really want to price it much higher than the current norms, but are still gauging how much backlash they'll get.

Honestly, just feels like they're out of touch at this point. They should've settled and told gamers by now that it will be $80 with their MP microtransactions...

GTA5s real money maker was GTA Online. They will probably try to charge $70 for it. And considering my money is worth half what it was 5-6 years ago, I wouldn't find it that bad considering the scope of the games

 

[m4a4]

GTA5s real money maker was GTA Online. They will probably try to charge $70 for it. And considering my money is worth half what it was 5-6 years ago, I wouldn't find it that bad considering the scope of the games

Exactly with the MP, which is why I think it's ridiculous and out of touch for them to dance around the price question for so long.

But I do think they're still too out of touch to price it any lower than $80. And considering this economy, a lot of people don't have as much money to spend on entertainment.

 

[LordVile95]

$5 a month subscription with a $10 a month premium option including a battle pass

 

[Rapob]

I won't play this game before PC version or maybe PS6 if its worth buying.

Rockstar mostly launch their games in the end of a console generation so they can sell you a new game when the Remaster hits 1-2 years later that fixes the wonky performance and vastly improves the game overall. Typically they add many QoL improvements.

They want you to double dip.

GTA 5 ran like pure trash on PS3 and Xbox 360 for example, about 1 year later, PS4 and Xbox One version came out, delivering a vastly better experience. I tried GTA 5 on PS3 and during action fps felt like 10-20, horrible and unplayable, even stuttering was present. I don't enjoy games when you die because they run or look bad.

The best and probably only way to properly play GTA 6 on current gen is PS5 Pro but I don't have one and I don't plan on buying one of the worst Playstation generations of all time, so it is PC or PS6 for me eventually. I can wait till GTA 6 is optimized and bugfixed anyway.

Hopefully they don't have multiple characters like GTA 5 this time. I hated that.

 

[ActualViking]

Sounds a lot like they really want to price it much higher than the current norms, but are still gauging how much backlash they'll get.

Honestly, just feels like they're out of touch at this point. They should've settled and told gamers by now that it will be $80 with their MP microtransactions...

How out of touch?
With all the work and thus investment that gone into making the game, then it seem reasonable it may cost a chunk more than other games. The buyers get a lot for their $
Its like if you buy a house, if it comes with a pool, a guest house, a park rather than a garden... then it cost a bit extra and that is okay.

 

[m4a4]

How out of touch?
With all the work and thus investment that gone into making the game, then it seem reasonable it may cost a chunk more than other games. The buyers get a lot for their $
Its like if you buy a house, if it comes with a pool, a guest house, a park rather than a garden... then it cost a bit extra and that is okay.

Investing more doesn't necessarily raise the perceived value for the majority of potential players. They still have to both convince players it'll be worth the price and to read the room on what to price it (and in this economy, a high price won't sell well).

If they set a price higher than $80, they will look out of touch.
Think of the PS3 at launch, it was an out of touch price. It still sold, but it only really started to sell well once it was stripped down and sold at a lower price.

 

[vicsrealms]

Wake me when it comes to the PC. ~grin~

 

[ActualViking]

Investing more doesn't necessarily raise the perceived value for the majority of potential players. They still have to both convince players it'll be worth the price and to read the room on what to price it (and in this economy, a high price won't sell well).

If they set a price higher than $80, they will look out of touch.
Think of the PS3 at launch, it was an out of touch price. It still sold, but it only really started to sell well once it was stripped down and sold at a lower price.

I can of course not speak for anyone but myself, but based on my experience with the last three GTA games and what is know about the coming one I expect there will be a lot of value to be found.
And with regards to the price, not sure why you think above $80 will look out of touch. Prices for games is generally going up with inflation, why would it be otherwise? And also, while I know wages everywhere hasn't kept up with inflation, in lots of places they have meaning $80+ doesn't carry the same impact everywhere.

 

[m4a4]

I can of course not speak for anyone but myself, but based on my experience with the last three GTA games and what is know about the coming one I expect there will be a lot of value to be found.
And with regards to the price, not sure why you think above $80 will look out of touch. Prices for games is generally going up with inflation, why would it be otherwise? And also, while I know wages everywhere hasn't kept up with inflation, in lots of places they have meaning $80+ doesn't carry the same impact everywhere.

I mean, I have found hundreds of hours of value from $20-$40 games. It's all perception.

And it will look out of touch. People already complained about Nintendo and their $80 games, and MS backtracked on their $80 games after backlash. Right now, the line in the sand for what I'd say is most gamers is $80. Especially considering greedy publishers will follow suit and try to follow Rockstar if they push the price ceiling.

Also, need I remind you that the MP microtransactions will rake in the money too (which is on top of a AAA price).

 

[Starfals]

Got GTA 5, their biggest game (and also biggest game in the world) for free soo yeah. I might get GTA 6 for either free or when its 10 bucks on the PC.

BTW GTA 5 was free on epic game store, before someone scream about the seas lol.

 

[ActualViking]

I mean, I have found hundreds of hours of value from $20-$40 games. It's all perception.

And it will look out of touch. People already complained about Nintendo and their $80 games, and MS backtracked on their $80 games after backlash. Right now, the line in the sand for what I'd say is most gamers is $80. Especially considering greedy publishers will follow suit and try to follow Rockstar if they push the price ceiling.

Also, need I remind you that the MP microtransactions will rake in the money too (which is on top of a AAA price).

Sorry, but unless you have some sort of global survey backing up "most gamers view" on the 80$ thing your claim is just a claim. I think you are wrong.
When you consider the inflation of the last years, that then means $80 today is not like $80 a few years ago. Unless of course ones income hasn't kept up, but that differs by a lot depending what situation people are living in (including what country).

Of course there will always be some that cry about prices until things are free, but my prediction is that if GTA6 cost $100 it won't be a problem and that $80 will be seen as something of a bargain. However microtransactions is a whole other matter, here it depends a lot on how they are structured and if they are seen as reasonable or greedy.

 

[m4a4]

Sorry, but unless you have some sort of global survey backing up "most gamers view" on the 80$ thing your claim is just a claim. I think you are wrong.

MS backing down is my survey. Heck, even Gearbox backed down with Borderlands 4 (a game with a ton of content). Both of those were only last year.

In any case, we'll agree to disagree. I don't see any other new points either of us can make.

 

[Gravitytr1]

I won't play this game before PC version or maybe PS6 if its worth buying.

Rockstar mostly launch their games in the end of a console generation so they can sell you a new game when the Remaster hits 1-2 years later that fixes the wonky performance and vastly improves the game overall. Typically they add many QoL improvements.

They want you to double dip.

GTA 5 ran like pure trash on PS3 and Xbox 360 for example, about 1 year later, PS4 and Xbox One version came out, delivering a vastly better experience. I tried GTA 5 on PS3 and during action fps felt like 10-20, horrible and unplayable, even stuttering was present. I don't enjoy games when you die because they run or look bad.

The best and probably only way to properly play GTA 6 on current gen is PS5 Pro but I don't have one and I don't plan on buying one of the worst Playstation generations of all time, so it is PC or PS6 for me eventually. I can wait till GTA 6 is optimized and bugfixed anyway.

Hopefully they don't have multiple characters like GTA 5 this time. I hated that.

I never paid for a GTA. I don't condone their practices and I vote with my wallet.

 

[Rapob]

I never paid for a GTA. I don't condone their practices and I vote with my wallet.

Neither did I and now you know why Rockstar focus on Consoles.

 

[Gravitytr1]

Neither did I and now you know why Rockstar focus on Consoles.

Yes, perfect. Console audiences are likely to pay more. I'm guessing it's similar to Apple consumers and Android. Ppl prefer apple because they either have more money or are worse in making financial decisions.

I mean, Consolers pay 3 times for one service, Internet access

They pay a SUBSCRIPTION, pay their ISP AND pay for a game with Internet capabilities that won't let them connect online until the prior two are paid. Truly a grift.