The transition to the latest generation of gaming has led publishers throughout the industry to raise their prices, aiming to align them with the significant budgets, time, and expertise that are invested in game development.

One industry analyst claims that increasing this further, for premium games such as GTA VI, could “save” gaming as we know it.

GTA VI could radically change the landscape of games.

Veteran investment analyst Matthew Ball recently published a 219-page report titled ‘State of Video Gaming in 2025’, looking at how the industry could grow this year.

In this report, he notes that “there is hope” that Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar Games, will price GTA VI at “$80, or even $100”.

Ball believes that surpassing this "key price barrier" would encourage other publishers to elevate their prices as well, aiming to boost overall revenue.

This idea echoes past comments from one Baldur’s Gate 3 developer who also noted that GTA VI could push a change in video game pricing.

Pricing decisions rest with the publishers and can be determined at their discretion. Considering the high production costs associated with a game of this scale, it’s entirely plausible that consumers may experience a price increase.

The risk involved, if I may say so, is that individuals may be priced out of enjoying their hobby.

Certainly, developers and publishers deserve to be compensated fairly for their work, and the time invested in development should result in a profitable outcome.

However, there are some who simply cannot afford to pay more for their games and while Ball also notes that GTA VI could monopolise players’ time, giving them a lot of hours for the cost, it could still see low income players struggling to cover the cost.

Publishers have discovered numerous methods to generate revenue from their games beyond just the initial purchase price, including options like battle passes, seasonal passes, downloadable content (DLC), and cosmetic items.

Rockstar Games will, at some point, give the public an updated version of GTA Online which will continue to earn them money for the next decade or more.

For the time being, we will need to be patient and wait for the price to be revealed, ideally during the next trailer release.