GTA 6 heftier 'inevitable' price tag leaves fans torn

In recent months, analysts sent the internet ablaze when they announced that it’s very possible that Grand Theft Auto VI could be priced at $100.

It split fans of the acclaimed Rockstar Games franchise into two camps.

Many labelled the pricing as ridiculous, arguing that a studio or publisher would never charge that much for a single release; others said it would be worth it for a monumental release like GTA VI.

I can somewhat understand the latter thinking but you have to remember that whether they fall into the ‘monumental’ category or not, if GTA VI charges $100, you best bet that other titles will follow suit.

Well, $100 is now looking a tad more likely.

In this console generation, AAA releases have typically retailed for $70 on Xbox and PlayStation, with Nintendo charging anywhere between $50 and $70 depending on the title.

With the release of the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 though, Nintendo will begin charging $80 for major releases - exceeding the price of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S games.

Mario Kart World will set players back $80.

Well, just exceeding PlayStation 5 games actually as Microsoft has just confirmed that later this year, Xbox will also begin charging $80 for major releases.

Fable and Perfect Dark are two games that spring to mind that I assume will fall into that $80 category.

Honestly, I’ll be shocked if we don’t eventually see a similar move from PlayStation, but with pre-orders having already gone live for October’s Ghost of Yōtei which remains at the $70 mark, it’s clearly not something on the way just yet.

As most AAA console releases are now charging $80 though, it practically guarantees that we won’t see GTA VI land for cheaper than that.

It also doesn’t make that $100 possibility seem all that far off.

As you can imagine, fans have plenty of thoughts on this.

“The precedent has been set, GTA VI costing $80 is inevitable,” wrote Reddit user BTISME123.

“Really sucks because no other 80 dollar game will be even close to GTA VI but publishers will insist on pricing it the same,” added JimmyJabble.

“GTA VI is super worth $80.. the new switch Mario games…eh not so much,” commented Cjw6809494.

Now it’s up to Rockstar to give us that final confirmation which probably won’t land for a while as GTA VI is now slated for a 26 May 2026 launch.