GTA 6 fans are terrified of what a $100 price tag will do to games but it’s already here
RUMOURS are swirling that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be the first $100 / £100 game when it launches later this year.
Gamers are worried that GTA 6 will set a precedent for triple-A games and all big-budget titles will cost an average of $100 / £100 each.
Currently, the average price is seen as £70 / $70, which is a $10 / £10 increase from the average price around five years ago.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is often credited with increasing the average price of big-budget games, and it often takes a hugely popular game to increase in price before others will follow.
The cost of game development has increased drastically over the last few years as hardware capability improves.
There is pressure from gamers not to raise the base price of games, as many say that $100 / £100 is outside of their budgets and an increase will undoubtedly impact sales.
Companies have instead been setting sales targets that have been seen by many to be unrealistic and unobtainable, and then laying off employees in the thousands to compensate.
However, what many gamers haven’t noticed is that the $100 / £100 game is already here, and companies have just been better at disguising it.
With all games the best time to play is at launch. Not only will you avoid spoilers, but you can engage with others playing online and take part in the hype.
Many triple-A games offer ‘early access’ to games to those who pay more, with some games allowing people to play a week before the general release.
These editions are often called Premium, Deluxe or Ultimate editions and often include a few in-game items.
However, the main draw of these more expensive editions is the ‘early access’, which is considered by many to be the game’s real release date.
If we look at one of the most recent triple-A releases, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, you can see the $100 / £100 game in action.
A regular copy will cost players $70 / £60, but the Premium Edition with three days ‘early access’ costs $100 / £86.
Looking at games with annual releases, EA Sports FC 25 costs $70 / £60, but those who want to play a week earlier have to pay $100 / £90.
This ‘early access’ means a lot for online players as they gain a huge advantage over those who have to wait an extra week.
This discussion doesn’t even include so-called microtransactions and DLC, which over the past decade have paywalled parts of games that were originally included at release.
People fear the $100 / £100 game, but unfortunately, it’s already here.
If you want to read more about upcoming games, check out our Civilization 7 preview.
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