With Grand Theft Auto VI‘s release coming up in late 2025, some are wondering if Take-Two might charge more than $70 for the game’s standard edition. After all, Take-Two was among the first major companies to up the price of its topline games from $60 to $70, and now some believe Take-Two could charge even more for the next GTA game.
CEO Strauss Zelnick was recently asked for his thoughts about “pricing dynamics” for the GTA franchise and its entire portfolio. Zelnick did not comment directly or confirm anything about the price for GTA VI, but he did discuss Take-Two’s general thoughts on pricing its products with “value” in mind.
“Look, there’s more content constantly being made available, and we really aim to deliver great value at any given time,” he explained on an earnings call. “We’re so focused on delivering more value than what we charge. And that’s sort of the 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.”
While we don’t know what the price of GTA VI will be–and no legitimate retailers are taking preorders for it yet–Take-Two has raised GTA ecosystem prices recently. The GTA + membership recently raised its price by 33%, from $6/month to $8/month. The price increase went into effect just as L.A. Noire was added to the service; Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption is already in the catalog, as is GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. Rockstar’s Bully is coming to GTA+ later this year.
Many are wondering how GTA+ might factor into GTA VI when it releases next year, and that remains unknown. Take-Two has not disclosed anything as of yet regarding the profitability or revenue results from GTA+, but the company has said over the years that GTA Online–which makes money from its microtransactions–has been a big revenue-driver.
As mentioned, Take-Two was one of the first publishers to charge $70 for new releases, beginning with NBA 2K21. Zelnick said raising prices by $10 was the right call and was accepted by consumers.
“In terms of frontline pricing for NBA 2K21, I think that worked out very much as expected. And as planned, it’s in a premium offering at the highest possible level, the title was built from the ground up for next-gen, so first title here that has been created that way,” the executive said. “And the acceptance by consumers has been nothing short of extraordinary.”
Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden predicted the price increase from $60 to $70 years ago, saying the AAA market was “unsustainable” and that $60 for a new release would become “difficult” for big games.
