Shocking price GTA 6 could cost as expert explains that it might actually be a good thing
One expert who knows a lot about making money has said a GTA 6 price tag that leaves us shocked could actually be a good thing for the industry as a whole.
The most highly anticipated video game of all time, Grand Theft Auto VI is set to break countless records when it is finally released by Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, starting with copies sold.
As for when it's released? We still don't know.
An autumn 2025 timeline was reaffirmed by Take-Two last year, with the company likely to address this again in a hugely anticipated company update in February.
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The February update is the latest in a very long line of events fans think is a sign more information is about to be released since Rockstar dropped the first trailer in December 2023. And no, we've still not got a trailer two.
Serving alongside that, the industry as whole will be watching closely so they can get their own ducks in a row to avoid potential clashes with GTA 6.
GTA 6 price latest
According to a new analysis of the gaming market, one expert on the matter says the current barrier of roughly $70 (£60) on video games will be easily broken by GTA 6.
Matthew Ball, a venture capitalise and analyst, has produced a whopping 220 slide report in to the video game industry entitled 'The State of Video Gaming in 2025'.
In it, he issues a deep dive in to the entire industry following recent years in which studios have been forced to make significant staff cuts or close down altogether.
It's a situation that many fans say has led to the worsening of the industry as a whole, with less expertise working on products than, say, a decade ago during the halcyon days following the release of the PS4.
Ball, who is CEO of Epyllion, a business providing investment and strategic advisory services, posted his presentation online.
He wrote: "Here's 220 slides covering why gaming soared from 2011 to 2021 then suddenly stalled (no, not COVID), where growth is and isn't, Black Hole Games, China's global rise, the brutal effects of TikTok + IDFA, Steam, more."
A higher price isn't bad?
In his slides, Ball says that there will be a 'mixed' reaction to GTA 5.
Sure, it will drive sales and revenue of the game and products relating to it - but the countless hours spent on it means gamers will be less interested in buying other titles due to time constraints.
But - and it is a significant but - there is 'hope' in what a price rise might do.
"There is hope that Take-Two will price GTA VI at $80 or even $100, thereby breaking a key price barrier and enabling the rest of the market to move up, too," he explained.
That'd be a price tag of around £65 to £80, which Ball says could be the new norm for the industry as a whole (even if Take-Two doesn't need the cash).
Previously, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has said he always wants to overdeliver in terms of quality and value of his product, which some have said is business-speak for driving up the price to match a superior product to anything else in the market.
I myself remember when Xbox 360 games used to cost £30 and I balked at the idea of spending £40 to £50 on a PS4 game, and then £60 on the PS5.
So if the price does go up, it is by no means a new phenomenon to the industry and the only surprise will be to those who are ignorant of the past.
Topics: GTA, Gaming, Money, Viral, World News, Entertainment, Twitter
Tom Earnshaw