So, there we have it. After what’s felt like years of speculation, the world found out last week that GTA VI is eighty dollars (plus tax), the digital-only base game without the extra (and highly questionable) bells and whistles. (Alright, so a physical edition may be forthcoming, according to Rockstar, but not until after release day. Interesting strategy?) As everyone who’s been playing games for the past several decades knows, we’ve lived with paying for games in the fifty-to-sixty-dollar range for quite some time, with some titles peaking at seventy dollars well before everyone went cuckoo over that cost for NBA 2K21’s back in 2020. With GTA VI bucking the trend now, is it time for us all to sit back in our rocking chairs and mull over the nostalgia of the “good ol’ days” of video game prices?

Interestingly, or at least from what I’ve perused online, there doesn’t seem to be that much pushback on eighty dollars for the base game (though there certainly is some). That may be because the game having a higher than usual price tag was rumored for so long, but it could also stem from the fact that folks believe the game will be worth it. I know I’ll be buying the (base) game with the hopes that it’ll prove to be just as engaging as GTA V, but it’s hard not to feel cautiously optimistic about the prospect.

I harbor some ill will over shelling out a mere seventy bucks for recent titles like Avowed and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Fine games though they are, neither of them captured my attention in ways that I had hoped or felt like extra-premium experiences, besides. I also retain mixed feelings over Rockstar’s previous output, Red Dead Redemption II. I was 100% onboard with the game through launch and then some, only for it to become a difficult slog that I found difficult to complete. Over the years, I’ve told myself that I should really go back and try to play it again, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to do it. Will GTA VI suffer the same fate after putting such a dent in my wallet?

That’s the risk that comes with gaming, and the rewards are extremely subjective. But the fact is that with Rockstar setting the precedent of the $80 game as standard, from which they will likely make boatloads of cash, why wouldn’t other companies follow suit? It is not 1990, 2000, or 2020 anymore. No matter how much players may protest from the sidelines, the cost of being entertained has been and is rising. Game developers must pay the bills just like anyone else; though one could certainly argue that passing on the need for such support to the players isn’t exactly the best practice and company CEOs make millions. Whatever the case may be, GTA VI is making lots of waves, so it’ll be interesting to see how they reshape the future gaming shores.

Lede image: © Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto VI page.