GTA VI Price Set to Push Call of Duty and Other Major Franchises to $80 USD, Analyst Predicts

Against initial expectations, the standard edition of Grand Theft Auto VI will retail for $80 USD. While many players breathed a sigh of relief at avoiding a steeper hike, lingering concerns remain over the long-term implications for the broader gaming market.

A growing segment of the community fears that GTA VI will establish a new pricing benchmark, prompting other popular franchises to follow suit. This view is shared by Neil Barbour who asserts that a ripple effect is all but inevitable with future AAA productions soon adopting the same $80 price tag.

Call of Duty, EA FC, NBA 2K, and Other Franchises May Increase Their Prices Due to GTA VI

In the span of just a few months, video gaming has become a considerably more expensive pastime. Across the board, the cost of consoles, subscription services, and software has climbed repeatedly, driven by a confluence of factors including the global memory shortage, inflationary pressures, tariffs, and broader economic volatility. As such, it was a surprise when it was announced that the base edition of Grand Theft Auto VI would retail at $80 USD.

However, Rockstar’s forthcoming blockbuster is not the first title to breach this new threshold. Nintendo recently set a similar precedent with Mario Kart World, which also launched at the $80 USD price point. According to Neil Barbour, an analyst with S&P Global Market Intelligence, this is unlikely to remain an isolated trend. He anticipates that a growing number of studios will follow suit, particularly once GTA VI arrives on the market.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Barbour elaborated on his outlook, predicting that the $80 USD price tag will become increasingly common among AAA releases. He characterized GTA VI as a watershed moment for the industry that will give major publishers such as Activision and Electronic Arts the confidence to raise their own prices without hesitation.

In particular, he pointed to established franchises like Call of Duty, EA FC, NBA 2K, and other sports franchises as prime candidates to capitalize on Rockstar’s release to justify future price increases. Should this scenario unfold, the industry standard would see another $10 USD hike, mirroring the shift that occurred in 2020 when the $70 USD price point became the new norm.

Barbour acknowledged that not all studios will move in lockstep. Some may adopt a wait-and-see approach, monitoring GTA VI’s commercial performance over the course of a year before committing to a change.

“Maybe they wait a year to see how GTA does, or maybe they just rip the band aid off. They already have some cover from some Switch 2 physical releases going to market at $80. But if you’re a mid-major publisher putting out a single-player-focused game, you’ll probably want to hang back in the previous $60-70 range for a while longer,” he explained.

Will GTA VI Make AAA Games More Expensive?

Not all industry observers share Barbour’s conviction. Joost van Dreunen offers a contrasting perspective, arguing that GTA VI will reshape the market not by raising price ceilings, but by elevating quality expectations.

In his view, the $80 USD price point will remain exclusive to those AAA titles that can truly match the caliber of Rockstar’s offering.

“Publishers will now only be able to price their games at $80 if they match the quality and experience,” Van Dreunen said.

He further contends that comparisons to GTA VI will be unavoidable, and given Rockstar’s track record of delivering some of the most ambitious titles in the medium, Van Dreunen predicts that only a select handful of games will attempt selling at $80 USD.

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