In other words, he believes the era of $60 or €60 games, let alone $70 or €70 games, is over.
The COO of Warhorse, the development team behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance, hopes that Grand Theft Auto VI will encourage other AAA games to raise their prices. Like some Nintendo titles, the standard edition of Grand Theft Auto VI will cost $80. According to Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two, the more expensive $100 edition is generating more pre-orders. In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Warhorse co-founder Martin Klima said that while Grand Theft Auto doesn’t appeal to him, he hopes the game will perform well so that other developers can benefit from this pricing precedent.
“The last thing you can do is increase the unit price. That would help a lot, but everybody’s scared to death about it. Hopefully, Grand Theft Auto VI will blaze the trail and allow us to increase our prices. Rockstar and Take-Two are the only ones who can afford—or dare—to increase the price of games. I think this is long overdue and necessary for the survival of the industry. So I wish them all the luck,” Klima said.
The gaming industry is under pressure to raise prices as development costs for AAA games continue to rise and inflation erodes the value of the traditional $60–$70 price point. However, according to a recent survey, 62% of the most dedicated gamers no longer buy games at full price, instead waiting for discounts in the weeks and months following a game’s release.
“Gen Xers grew up with midnight openings, full-price games, and consoles. They want to get as much as they can out of their purchases. Gen Z, on the other hand, lives in a world of platforms where games never end and social interaction and community become a massive part of their DNA. They want to be part of a community where they can say, ‘I’m the most informed. I know the most about this game,” commented Karl Stewart, author of the Generations in Play report.
Take-Two pioneered the $70 price point with NBA 2K21.
Leave a Reply