Take-Two CEO: GTA 6 Pricing Should Be ‘Very Reasonable’

With Rockstar Games’ earnings call on May 21 just around the corner, excitement and speculation about Grand Theft Auto 6 are heating up once again. Will the game stick to its November 19 release date, or could we see a delay? What’s the latest on Grand Theft Auto Online? And how much “adult content” can players expect? One of the hottest topics in recent months has been the potential pricing of GTA 6. Some industry insiders have suggested that the game might carry a hefty price tag of $100. However, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, has hinted that the price will likely align more closely with current AAA titles.

During a recent appearance at the iicon conference in Las Vegas, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick seemed to downplay the idea of a $100 price point. He stated, “Consumers pay for the value that you bring to them, and our job is to charge way, way, way less of the value delivery.” He emphasized that the perception of value comes from both the quality of the product and its price. “Consumers need to feel like the thing itself is amazing, and the price they were charged was fair for what they got.”

Zelnick also pointed out that game prices have largely remained in the $60-$70 range for over a decade, which is unusual given inflation trends in other sectors. “If you look at it through that lens, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But that isn’t the lens through which we look,” he explained. “Instead, we look at… how do we deliver something amazing, and how do we make sure that what people pay for it feels very reasonable.”

This focus on “value” mirrors comments Zelnick made in an interview with Variety last August, where he mentioned that Take-Two aims to “deliver more value than what we charge.” He also hinted at the industry’s trend of offering multiple versions of the same game, often launching at a “premium price” with special editions. Given this strategy’s popularity, it seems likely that GTA 6 will have various editions at different price points.

Zelnick’s remarks come at a time when players appear less inclined to pay $80 or more for a single game than publishers might have anticipated. For instance, back in July, Xbox reversed its decision to price The Outer Worlds 2 at $80, bringing it back down to $70. Earlier this month, Xbox also reduced the price of its premium subscription service, Game Pass Ultimate, after customers reacted negatively to the $30 monthly fee. Even Nintendo, typically resistant to discounts, announced in March that digital copies of its games would be $10 cheaper than physical versions, following the $80 price tag for the Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World.

While it’s unlikely we’ll hear about GTA 6’s pricing during the May 21 earnings call, we can expect confirmation on whether the game will meet its November release date. The wait has been long, but there’s finally some light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks to a recent leak, we have a clearer picture of what Rockstar might be planning for its always-on sandbox.