Baldur’s Gate 3 dev convinced GTA 6 will change how games are priced

GTA 6 could be more expensive than every other AAA game on the market when it releases according to Baldur’s Gate 3’s Director of Publishing.

Grand Theft Auto fans across the globe are patiently waiting for Rockstar to reveal more info about GTA 6 ahead of its planned launch in Fall 2025, including how much it will cost.

There has been a lot of discussion about the game’s pricing, with some rumors even suggesting GTA VI will retail for a whopping $150, more than double the price of a standard AAA game at $69.99.

It turns out, players aren’t the only ones who suspect GTA 6 will be more expensive. Michael Douse, the Director of Publishing for Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios, Rockstar could set a new industry trend with how it prices the next Grand Theft Auto.

In a post on X, Douse criticized how Ubisoft priced Star Wars Outlaws with numerous editions writing, “I don’t love the artificiality of pricing structures post retail. Use the inflated base price to upsell a subscription, and use vague content promises to inflate ultimate editions to make the base price look better. It all seems a bit dangerous and disconnected from the community.”

According to Douse, games should be priced based on their “quality, breadth & depth,” but noted that all titles should actually cost more because of how much money goes into making them.

“Almost all games should cost more at a base level because the cost of making them (inflation, for one) is outpacing pricing trends. But I don’t think we’ll get there with DLC promises so much as quality and communication. Everyone’s just waiting for GTA 6 to do it.”

Whether or not Rockstar decides to pull the trigger on selling GTA 6 for more than the average AAA game remains to be seen. The CEO of Rockstar’s parent company briefly touched on pricing in a 2024 interview.

“We’re so focused on delivering more value than what we charge. And that’s the sort of rubric. And any time we establish a price, we want to make sure that it’s good news for the consumer; that the experience vastly over-delivers in the context of the cost. That’s the goal,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said.

Only time will tell how GTA 6 is priced, but with the game’s release window still set for Fall 2025, fans may not have long to wait until pre-orders become available. A second trailer is also rumored to debut before the end of 2024, which could include not just the pricing, but a more concrete release date.