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- It has been said that GTA 6 could change gaming prices for good.
- In my opinion, Rockstar is far too smart to make such a mistake, especially since the team can easily offer an early-access edition that serves a similar purpose.
- Fans are already against the idea of $70 AAA releases, so this move would not bode well for Take-Two and its biggest studio.
The Grand Theft Auto franchise truly stands in a league of its own today. As one of the biggest products in all of entertainment, this series has made a name for itself for being innovative, engaging, and often shocking.
With GTA 6 coming next year, the stage is set for Rockstar to do something truly groundbreaking in the industry. However, with this excitement comes fear. As fans count the days toward the pre-order announcement, there is visible concern about the launch price.
It has been said that Rockstar could change gaming prices as we know them today, potentially opening the floodgates for $80-100 AAA releases. While these concerns aren’t unwarranted, I believe the developer will do no such thing.
Why it matters: Pricing in the AAA industry is a delicate subject since many believe very few AAA releases justify the current asking price.
A PR Nightmare For Everyone Involved
The first studio to push for games priced at more than $70 is almost guaranteed to face pushback from the community.
Take-Two and Rockstar would need to come up with a thousand different explanations to justify GTA 6’s pricing, especially since former developers have argued the game will be more of the same.
Audiences have just begun to accept $70 as the new standard, but PlayStation faced its fair share of backlash for leading this transition. Many still believe that most AAA productions don’t justify the $70 price point.
A higher praise would lead to exponentially higher expectations from GTA 6. While I don’t doubt Rockstar’s ability to deliver, a $80-100 price tag could hurt the bottom line, something you probably don’t want for the first Grand Theft Auto entry in over ten years.
Early Access For $80-100 Would Be 10x More Practical
The biggest reason I think Rockstar won’t go for a base price higher than $70 is the fact that a solution already exists.
Publishers and developers are increasingly charging consumers a higher-than-standard price for just a few days of early access. With Rockstar’s next release being GTA 6, almost everyone would leap at the opportunity to play the game early, if only for a few days.
With the right marketing, the studio could see most of the initial sales coming from a premium edition that guarantees a few days of early access. At the same time, the developer would avoid the PR nightmare that would follow a higher-than-usual base price.
This strategy would effectively allow the company to kill two birds with one stone. At the time of writing, the likes of Ubisoft are already practising this trend, with Star Wars Outlaws being the most recent example of a game that shipped with early access options.
GTA 6 Doesn’t Need To Cost More
This goes without saying, but GTA 6 will be the most significant release this industry has ever seen. A billion-dollar launch is practically a given, with more money to be made through post-launch live service support.
As such, Rockstar can ignore temporary revenue for long-term gain. If GTA 6 ends up being as impressive as it is being made out to be, fans will gladly fork over extra cash to support the studio.
The goodwill earned from a traditional price would be worth more to the studio since the community would be inclined to support the online aspect of GTA 6 through microtransactions.
From everything I’ve seen so far, Rockstar has no real reason to even consider a price over $70. I understand the developer’s recent antics with GTA Online have left the community in doubt, but all signs point to the team following industry trends.
If worst comes to worst, I’m sure the most dedicated of fans would still pay $100 or more for the game. However, I’m confident we’ll be buying GTA 6 for just $70 in 2025, at least for those of us who usually stick with the standard edition.
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[News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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