After months of speculation about its price, Rockstar Games confirmed back in June that Grand Theft Auto 6 will cost $80 for its “standard” edition, and $100 for the “ultimate” one. That didn’t come as a shock to analysts and pundits close to the industry, but has been a big source of debate among fans who feel they will be priced out of gaming entirely should this trend continue. According to developer Martin Klima, co-founder of Warhorse Studios (the team behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance), this move will “blaze a trail” to overall higher prices for games.

Klima is Hopeful Prices Can Increase Now

In an interview with PC Gamer, Klima discussed Grand Theft Auto 6 and how he has no interest in the game. While that seems like a silly thing to bring up in an interview, it did lead to him talking about the pricing structure and what he hopes will happen to the industry because of GTA 6’s success. Mentioning the tired assessment that video games are more expensive to make, he says that publishers have no further avenues for generating more revenue since they’ve, essentially, destroyed retail and maximized all potential profits from digital.

“The last thing you can do is to increase the unit price,” Klima told the outlet. “That would help a lot, but everybody’s scared to death about it. Now, hopefully, GTA will blaze the trail, and it will allow us to increase the cost.” By Klima’s estimation, Rockstar and Take-Two are the only companies “who can afford, or who can dare, to increase the price of games, which I think is long overdue and also necessary for this business to survive.”

Why Does Klima Believe This is Needed?

Earlier in the interview, Klima brought up the same talking point I’ve heard time and again from publishers: he states that as computing power increases, gamers expect the complexity and scale of games to match that. This doesn’t match up to reality where some of the biggest games in the industry are Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox. It also doesn’t hold true to a company like Nintendo, which consistently produces games on “lesser” hardware which move tens of millions of units and outsell first-party output from Sony and Microsoft. People certainly like flashy graphics and all, but it is not the main factor for getting into this hobby.

“It’s really good that somebody is making these games that are really technologically marvels,” Klima tells PC Gamer, which seems kind of silly considering most AAA games are the same. I won’t pretend Grand Theft Auto 6 isn’t on a different level, but we’ve seen cutting-edge technology implemented in games such as Resident Evil Requiem, 007 First Light, and even The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered just this year. Rockstar is not the only company in town making technological marvels, nor is it a justification to keep pushing prices higher and higher.

Will Grand Theft Auto 6 Set a new Pricing Precedent?

Where I will give Klima some credit is that he is likely correct in assuming GTA 6 will shift the price threshold for games. Nintendo already ripped the bandage off last year with Mario Kart World (and has followed up with Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave this year), but Grand Theft Auto remains a cultural force unlike even Nintendo. Sadly, people are going to buy this and it’s going to be ludicrously successful. This will lead to publishers making the wrong assumption about prices, and we’ll likely start seeing $80 as the new normal in 2027. There will still be exceptions to this, and I wouldn’t expect indie publishers to follow suit, but it’s likely fact that game prices will only continue to rise after this game releases.

Last Word on Grand Theft Auto 6 Blazing a Trail to Higher Prices

Ultimately, I do not like the notion that game prices will go up even more. I understand the reality of development costs within the industry, but the fact is that many people are not asking for more complexity, better graphics, or even larger games. People are happy with all types of games, and focusing solely on one type is the reason the industry is currently facing mass layoffs, oversaturation in the market, and the death of storied studios. Rockstar is free to chase whatever dragon it wants, but the lessons taken from GTA 6 should not be “all games need to be $80 now.”