GTA 6 leak: Will players have to shell out hundreds of dollars?

Take-Two Interactive CEO suggests pricing games based on their 'per hour value', which could result in skyrocketing costs for AAA titles like GTA 6. Could this affect GTA 6's price?

The development of GTA 6 is reported to cost $1-$2 billion. Know details. (Representative Image) (Rockstar Games)

GTA 6 leak: Ever since Rockstar Games announced Grand Theft Auto 6 or GTA 6, leaks about the game have started surfacing at a rapid pace. Recently, a report suggested that GTA 6 might feature not two but three characters, including an infant that could influence the game's plot and be seen in cutscenes. Leaks also suggested that AI might be heavily involved in the game's development. Could all these groundbreaking features add to the game's cost, resulting in players shelling out more bucks to purchase GTA 6?

GTA 6 cost

In a recent interview, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said that games should be priced on their “per hour value”. This would mean the longer the gameplay, the higher its price. At present, most AAA titles are priced between $60-$70 for the standard edition, while bundles and special editions cost considerably more. However, if the “per hour value” strategy is adopted, the cost of most AAA games would skyrocket to hundreds of dollars. This could spell trouble for gamers who have patiently waited for GTA 6 to arrive. Since Rockstar's games offer hundreds of hours of entertainment, it hints at rising costs.

Zelnick said, “In terms of pricing for any entertainment property, basically, the algorithm is the value of the expected entertainment usage. Which is to say that the per-hour value times the number of expected hours plus the terminal value that's perceived by the customer in ownership if the title is actually owned, not, say, rented or subscribed to. And you'll see that that bears out in every kind of entertainment vehicle. By that standard, our frontline prices are still very, very low because we offer many hours of engagement.”

If Rockstar adopts Zelnick's strategy, then the cost of GTA 6 might actually be in the hundreds of dollars.

GTA 6: How much could it cost?

Reports have claimed that GTA 6 could have an estimated budget between $1-$2 billion. This leak has fuelled rumors about the game's price, with reports claiming that GTA 6 copies could be priced at a staggering $150. This would be on par with Take-Two's CEO comments on the “per hour value” of games. However, will gamers shell out hundreds of dollars for video games? We're yet to see.