GTA 6 pricing is really splitting players: 'I can't afford it'

The price of GTA VI might just be the undoing of gamers who simply can’t afford the rising costs of video games.

I know, games were expensive back in the 1990s, and when you consider inflation, they should technically be more expensive today. However, distributing Nintendo and SEGA games on chunky plastic cartridges certainly never helped.

Check out the GTA VI trailer below!

But let’s not forget that developing video games is less complicated than it was decades ago. Publishers face fewer overheads with digital distribution, not to mention all the additional money made with DLC, season passes, battle passes, and whatnot.

As reported by Forbes, the video game industry is making more money today than it ever has and is even more profitable than the TV and movie industry.

Yet, as we’ve seen with the prices of Nintendo Switch 2 games, our beloved hobby keeps getting more expensive despite many publishers making incredible profits.

Whether we agree that games such as Mario Kart World justifies having an RRP of £74.99/$89.99 is subjective. That being said, the worst concern from my perspective is that other publishers will see those Nintendo prices and think “Well, if they’re doing it, so shall we.”

One game that could take advantage of that mindset is the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series from Rockstar Games. Any price tag could be slapped on GTA VI, and it will still sell in record numbers and Rockstar Games knows it.

“Let's be honest... does the price matter? If GTA VI was $120 standard, you wouldn't pay that? I would,” said Redditor tremayne0127.

To play devil's advocate, if GTA VI was worthy of a $120 price tag, Rockstar Games would still pack the game with temptations to spend real-world money provided by its Shark Cards.

Since GTA V was first released in 2013 and ported to every console generation, according to the Radio Times, it has made a reported $8.6 billion and much of that revenue will be generated from in-game purchases and not unit sales.

“I wouldn't simply because I can't afford it. A $120 game conversion is half of the minimum wage of my country,” replied Belzher.

“So what does a game cost in your country with your currency?” asked Lazy_Ad9964 in response, to which Belzher replied, “A $70 game nowadays is 350 BRL, the minimum wage here in Brazil is 1500 BRL.”

To convert $120, that currently works out to be an estimated 741 BRL. So yeah, that’s not cheap, especially in Brazil.

“That’s not the point… we don’t wanna pay a fourth of our console on one game,” said Feisty-Clue3482 to the author of the thread. “Comments like this are why games are gonna be standard $150 because consumers will take it. GTA VI could be life-altering, but that doesn't mean it’ll be ok to spend that much.”

“So you're telling me you NEVER purchased any special edition for more than $100 before?” replied tremayne0127. I think the point Feisty-Clue3482 was making is that we could end up paying silly prices for a base game and not editions with additional content.

“Raising the price is not beneficial for you dude, stop acting like it is. Why would you even entertain this idea?” exclaimed SnooOpinions8715.

Hopefully, Rockstar Games will not only reveal the second trailer for GTA VI in the coming months but also how much it will cost us.

Grand Theft Auto VI is currently scheduled to be released late this year on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.