GTA 6 Might Normalize $80 Games, But Analysts Say Only A Few Can Pull It Off

With GTA 6 setting its price point at $80, the general consensus is that it may be a trendsetter that will encourage more publishers to sell their games at this new baseline MSRP. According to analysts, while this new sticker price baseline is possible, only a handful of games might be able to get away with it.

Speaking to GamesRadar, DFC Intelligence’s David Cole believes that $80 games will become more commonplace over time, thanks partly to GTA 6 and Nintendo being the first company to wade into these waters with Mario Kart World. “The issue is there are only a handful of premium games that command this price point,” Cole explained, adding that “only the most in-demand games with a built-in initial audience” will have the sway to convince people to pay extra for them.

Business professor and author, Joost van Dreunen, echoed those beliefs on his Substack, saying that studios attempting to charge $80 on games that don’t offer the same perception of value “will likely come to regret that.”

“Gaming is increasingly becoming a luxury category,” van Dreunen wrote. “Its economics have historically centered around a winner-takes-most model, and GTA 6 raises the bar again. Publishers who can clear it will pull further ahead, and those who cannot will have to compete on distribution instead, finding new channels, bundles, and pricing models to reach players the blockbusters don’t.”

It’s worth noting that GTA 6 publisher Take-Two Interactive is credited with setting a $70 precedent for video game prices back in 2020, and the rest of the industry quickly followed in its footsteps. The idea of a new Call of Duty or a Super Mario game commanding an $80 price tag wouldn’t be unusual, but at least there are more affordable options out there. Live-service games like Marathon and Helldivers 2 launched for $40, and Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced is launching for $60 in July.

Between those AAA games, live-service titles, and remakes, indie games are typically priced at $30, and some of the breakout hits of the year have offered a lot of value for their modest price point. Of course, the best way to not pay $80 for a game is to wait it out, as they typically go on sale not long after release–unless that game is from Nintendo, that is.