Will GTA 6 Break the $70 Barrier? Analysts Weigh In on $100 Price Rumors

NEW YORK — As anticipation builds for the 2025 release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6), rumors of a potential $100 price tag have sparked heated debate among gamers and industry analysts. The speculation stems from a recent report by Epyllion CEO Matthew Ball, who suggested that some game developers hope GTA 6 could break the $70 barrier, setting a new standard for AAA game pricing.

“Some gamemakers hope GTA 6 will be priced at $80 to $100, breaking the $70 barrier and helping $50 titles to move up to $60, $60 to do $70, $70 to $80, etc.,” Ball wrote. He noted that packaged game prices have remained stagnant despite rising development costs and stagnant player growth, making GTA 6 a potential catalyst for industry-wide price increases.

However, analysts are skeptical. Mat Piscatella, an analyst at Circana, argued that a $100 base price would be unnecessary and counterproductive. “You want to make the funnel as wide as possible, while also optimizing launch revenue. You don’t do this by making the base price of a game so high that the funnel narrows,” he said. “It just makes no sense. At all.”

Joost van Dreunen, a professor at NYU Stern and author of the SuperJoost newsletter, echoed this sentiment, calling a price hike a “mistake” for Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive. “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 said. “They’ll likely stick to this proven approach, though they’ll definitely offer premium editions with extras at higher price points.”

Rhys Elliott, an analyst at MIDiA Research, pointed out that publishers already charge $100 or more for games through collector’s editions and early access perks. “Most huge AAA games already charge $100 (sometimes more) in the first 3-7 days before launch, but they call it ‘early access’ and slap ‘collector’s edition’ in the name,” he said. However, he added that charging $100 for the base game would be “a bridge too far,” even for a title as highly anticipated as GTA 6.

Elliott emphasized that GTA 6’s success will hinge on its online component, GTA Online, which has been a major revenue driver for GTA 5. “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,” he said. “Rockstar would not want to limit its total addressable market there.”

James McWhirter, a senior games analyst at Omdia, agreed that GTA Online will remain a key focus for Take-Two. “GTA Online was key to GTA 5’s ongoing success, driving premium sales and subscription service licensing; a precedent Take-Two is unlikely to disrupt with GTA 6’s launch,” he said. “Alternative pricing schemes will likely emerge only after establishing a strong player base for the next-gen GTA Online.”

Van Dreunen predicted that GTA 6 could match or exceed the success of GTA 5, which sold 35 million copies in its first year. “Assuming a similar adoption rate among an anticipated 130 million console install base in 2025, GTA 6 could sell around 38 million copies in its first twelve months,” he said. “At an average selling price of $70, this would generate approximately $2.7 billion through both digital and physical channels.”

While the $100 price tag remains speculative, the consensus among analysts is that Rockstar will likely stick to a $70 base price for GTA 6, with premium editions offering additional content at higher price points. As the gaming world eagerly awaits more details, one thing is clear: GTA 6 is poised to be a cultural and financial juggernaut, regardless of its price.