An industry analyst has stirred controversy by claiming Rockstar Games is charging too little for Grand Theft Auto 6, arguing the standard $80 price tag should be closer to $200. Ben Thompson, founder of tech analysis firm Stratchery, made the remarks on the TBPN podcast, describing the upcoming title as 'the last great game' and 'the pinnacle of triple-A craftsmanship'.
Analyst calls for higher price point
'I think Rockstar is charging way too little for this game,' Thompson said. 'They should be charging like $200 for this game.' He emphasized that GTA 6 was 'mostly all made pre-AI' and represents years of intense development effort, referencing the notorious crunch culture at Rockstar. 'Years and years and years of blood, sweat, and tears,' he added. 'To the extent where you have the Twitter analysts counting cigarette butts outside Rockstar’s offices to see how much crunch they’re in right now.'
Thompson expressed a personal willingness to pay a premium. 'I feel compelled to buy GTA 6, just in honour of it existing. Even if I don’t know if I’m ever going to play it. I’d be happy to pay $200. $80 is ridiculous. They should charge more.'
Rockstar's pricing strategy
Rockstar announced GTA 6's pricing last month, with the standard edition at £69.99 ($80) and the Ultimate Edition at £89.99, including cosmetic extras. This aligns with other triple-A titles like Call of Duty and EA Sports FC, though those are annual releases. The relatively modest price surprised many, given fears of a £100 tag.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick had earlier emphasized a 'reasonable' price. '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 said. 'How you feel about something you buy is the intersection of the thing itself and what you pay for. Consumers need to feel like the thing itself is amazing and the price they were charged was fair for what they got.'
Context and implications
While Thompson's comments may be partly tongue-in-cheek, they highlight the tension between developer investment and consumer expectations. GTA 6 is expected to generate substantial revenue from microtransactions, making a high entry price less critical for Rockstar's bottom line. The game launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19, 2026.
