Congratulations, dear gamers: we've made it. The price tag with the three-digit number is finally here, framed by confetti from microtransactions and season passes. "GTA 6", the game that has been on everyone's lips for years and probably appears in every second pitch deck in the games industry as a benchmark for "market potential", is rumored to cost a whopping 100 US dollars or euros. And no, this is not a collector's edition with a golden disc, thermal mug and scented candle - this is the new standard price. Welcome to the age of the 100-dollar game.
GTA 6 is just the beginning
The domino effect was started a long time ago - by a certain plumber in a red jumpsuit. "Mario Kart World" had the courage, to set the price bar at 80 euros - 90 euros if you really want to hold something in your hand. That broke the dam. The industry was just waiting to see who would take the plunge first. If Nintendo, the most family-friendly of the giants, follows this path, you can be sure: The others will follow.
With the launch of PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2020, the standard prices for triple-A games climbed from 60 to 80 euros. It was a gradual process: first a "Demon's Souls" here, a "Spider-Man Remastered" there. "Ratchet & Clank", "Horizon" and, of course, "Call of Duty" - they all helped to gradually get us used to the idea that high-quality gaming costs more. And now comes phase two: the three-digit future.
"GTA 6" is not only set to be the biggest game of all time, but also the most expensive - for us. Analysts assumethat publishers want to use this game as a benchmark: If Rockstar Games can take $100, anyone can. EA. Ubisoft. Activision. Maybe even CD Projekt, if at some point Cyberpunk 2088 get it done.
Boycott? Haha, good joke.
Of course the internet will be upset. There will be threads on Reddit, hashtags on Twitter (X), heated discussions in forums and dripping YouTube comments. And then "Mario Kart World" will sell a million units - in the first week. And the publishers will say to themselves: everything done right. The next Pokémon will dominate all the charts again, despite mediocre technology. And "GTA 6"?
Does anyone really believe that anyone won't pay 100 dollars for a game that's been in development for ten years, paralyzes an entire internet and probably generate more buzz with a single trailer than some publishers in an entire decade?
The invoice pay in the end only we
What makes this price increase so bitter? Quite simply, we know that the money is not going where it is needed. Developer studios are struggling with crunch, burnout and layoffs, while executives are showered with bonuses for having "realized visions". Spoiler: The vision was money.
The arguments that game production is becoming more and more expensive are not wrong. But when a company like Rockstar Games has created the highest-selling entertainment product of all time with "GTA 5", nobody seriously believes that they would suddenly slide into the red with a 70-dollar game.
Welcome to the premium circus
The future of gaming is expensive, digital, and it comes with deluxe upgrades that promise more content than the base game even before release. We are on the cusp of 100-dollar normality - with a smiling publisher, a crying bank account and the certainty that we will still be sitting in front of the screen on release day.
Because we pay. We get upset. And we pay anyway. The industry knows that. And now it also knows that we pay 100 euros.
Will "GTA 6" at least be released on time?
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