Former GTA Director Comments on GTA 6 Price

A former Rockstar director claims Grand Theft Auto 6 won't cost $100, even if it has the most expensive development cycle in history. Despite various reveals, much of the mystery around Grand Theft Auto 6 remains, but an insider believes fans won't have to worry about paying $100 for the game when it finally releases.

The last one Grand Theft Auto became the highest-grossing entertainment product of all time and remains one of the best-selling video games of all time, second only to Minecraft. With such a massive bar to live up to, it was inevitable that the next entry in the franchise would generate quite a bit of buzz. In the midst of waiting and excitement, GTA 6 has won Most Anticipated Game two years in a row at The Game Awards, but as development has dragged on, some have worried about the cost. Thankfully, at least one expert believes the game's high production costs won't be passed on to players.

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Analysts predict how much revenue GTA 6 will generate in the first two months

An analyst group shares its prediction for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6, saying the game will earn an eye-watering amount within two months.

Former Rockstar North director Sats GTA 6 will be “a regular priced game” despite high development costs

In an interview with GamesHub, Obbe Vermeij, former technical director at Rockstar North, denied the speculation GTA 6 potentially costing $100, which points out how Rockstar has made no such indication. At least one analyst has suggested so GTA 6 could cost between $80 and $100, even kick-starting a trend of more expensive AAA games, but Vermeij disagrees. According to GTA veteran of the series, Rockstar will likely “make it a regular-priced game and then monetize the back-end” through its rumored online component, which could remain active for years to come, similarly GTA online has helped to maintain GTA 5 live.

At the same time, Vermeij also believes “GTA 6 will be the most expensive game ever developed.” Previous rumors have already claimed that GTA 6 could have a budget as high as $2 billion, and its many lengthy delays are likely to push the total cost even higher. Amid such high production costs, asking $80 or even $100 might make sense, but Vermeij points out how the franchise's popularity can offset the costs. The developer explained how Rockstar will likely want to attract the largest possible player base, open the door to higher revenue through an online component down the road, and retain GTA 6 around $70 would help with that.

Former Rockstar developer comments on GTA 6 delays

Rockstar has yet to confirm that GTA 6 will have an online multiplayer aspect, but several leaks and rumors have suggested as much. An industry insider has claimed that GTA 6s online mode is already in late development, so it could theoretically be released anytime after the main game's launch to boost sales. As Vermeij points out, having the live service side of the game would justify keeping a lower price to attract more users before development costs are recovered through subscriptions, DLC and the like.

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Vermeij also stated that GTA 6 could remain the most expensive game in history for the rest of time, highlighting how AI is likely to reduce development costs. He's not the first developer to express the sentiment, which Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2The director has said that AI could speed up game development and allow smaller teams to push out bigger games. Vermeij says artists account for “maybe 70% of the cost of a game,” but spend a lot of time on repetitive work like rigging and fixing mesh issues, which AI can automate to save time. Still, other industry voices, including many gamers, have expressed distaste for AI, so it's unclear how much the technology will affect games that GTA 6 Forward.