‘GTA6’ could cost $100, says industry expert – but “player backlash would be significant”

A number of industry experts have weighed in on the rumour that Grand Theft Auto 6 could cost up to $100 when it launches later this year.

• READ MORE: Has gaming outpriced the average player?

Last week, an analyst claimed that a number of developers were hopeful Rockstar would charge $100 for the basic version of GTA 6, so they could justify increasing the cost of their games as well.

A number of fans were worried about the potential price hike but one industry expert has now said there’s “no need to make the base price of any game $100.” Taking to Bluesky, Mat Piscatella added “You want to make the funnel as wide as possible, while also optimising launch $. You don’t do this by making the base price of a game so high that the funnel narrows. It just makes no sense. At all.”

Speaking to IGN, NYU Stern professor Joost van Dreunen said that a price increase would be a “mistake” for GTA 6. “Their success with GTA 5 came partly from their pricing strategy — launching at a standard price point late in the console cycle, then selling another copy to those same players when they upgraded to new consoles,” he added.

“GTA 6 is going to be a cultural phenomenon and could bear a $100 price point, but player backlash would be significant, and that would be a short-term gain at a long-term cost. Maximising day-one premium revenues is not the play here, especially in today’s economy,” explained games analyst Rhy Elliot.

He went on to tell IGN that a majority of Grand Theft Auto 5’s revenue came from online. “One of the major challenges for GTA 6 is convincing players to jump ship from GTA 5’s online component, so creating a needlessly higher switching cost would not be wise here,” he added.

Fans are currently speculating that a second trailer for GTA 6 could be released this week after the first was shared back in 2023. As it stands, the game is due for release later this year but a firm date has yet to be announced.

In other news, Baldur’s Gate 3 developers accidentally launched the eagerly awaited Patch 8 update earlier than planned – and have now warned players it could ruin their game.

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