Gamers have been discussing the hot topic of GTA 6 and how much it will cost them after a reported $100 price tag was slapped on it by one industry expert.
Released later this year - we hope - the latest instalment to the Grand Theft Auto universe is set to be the grandest yet.
Bigger and most probably better than anything that has come before, it is expected to set a new standard in the world of video games as it becomes the flagship product for the PS5 and Xbox Series X / S.
And given how much is it expected to set the agenda for 2025 and beyond, there's a big feeling that the price could be upped.
Advert
GTA 6 price rumours explained
The current cap on video games is roughly $70 in the USA, or £60 in the UK.
But one expert's analysis of the state of the industry reckons this is going to be upped to between $80 (£65) and $100 (£80).
That's according to Matthew Ball, a venture capitalise and analyst, who has this month produced a 220 page report on the video game industry entitled, 'The State of Video Gaming in 2025'.
Ball reckons that it will be no bad thing, either, with it helping to stop the 'stall' that has hit the video game market since 2021 - something he says is not an economic hangover of the Covid pandemic.
Instead, the analyst believes an upward shift in the pricing barrier will form a 'new norm' whereby game developers can make more money in a recent era that has been plagued by job losses and projects being scrapped over costs.
Fans aren't keen?
Speaking about the potential for a new $100 ceiling, fans have been mixed if that is indeed confirmed at some point by developer Rockstar and parent company, Take-Two Interactive.
Speaking about the matter over on Reddit, the GTA 6 subreddit has come alive with reaction.
"We don't want that do we lads," one person wrote.
"$100 for a game is crazy in my opinion. Even $70 is pushing it."
Another said the price tag isn't needed in a world where micro-transactions are a thing for games that resonate well with its audience. Think Fortnite and how it's free to download but you pay for skins and upgrades to your character.
On Ball's analysis, one said: "Dude says games need to be $100 to 'grow the gaming market'.
"I thought that was what micro-transactions were doing. Games don't need to be $100 when people spend an extra $100 to $1,000."
Another wrote: "What a dumb conversation. GTA 6 will cost 70 bucks and Rockstar will spend the next decade making billions off GTA 6 Online.
"They are not going to risk reducing their potential player base for the online component by charging 100 bucks for the game."
Others said it didn't really matter, writing: "Watch this be 100 bucks and we'll all still be paying for it."
Topics: GTA, Money, UK News, US News, Gaming, World News, Viral
Tom Earnshaw