As the debate over the price of Grand Theft Auto 6 rages on, one developer of the original Saints Row — itself heavily inspired by GTA — has said he hopes Rockstar charges $100 for it, insisting it’s the only game in the world that can get away with it.
Strauss Zelnick, boss of Rockstar parent company Take-Two, is often asked how much Rockstar will charge for what is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. And each time he’s asked, Zelnick dances around the question, pointing to delivering value for customers.
Adding fuel to the scrutiny is the industry’s recent jump from $70 to $80 for some games. If Nintendo is charging $80 for Nintendo Switch 2 games like Mario Kart World, and Microsoft, as many expect, jumps to $80 for its games from next year after backtracking on doing just that this year, then it’s hard to see GTA 6 priced any cheaper.
Fans often baulk at the idea of forking out $100 for GTA 6. But according to Chris Stockman, the design director of the first Saints Row game, GTA 6 “deserves” to be $100.
In an interview with Esports Insider, Stockman responded to the suggestion that GTA 6 will be the first $100 video game.
“They’re the only ones that can get away with it, Stockman said. “I don’t think it’s a rising tide that floats all boats. I think that there’ll be a tremendous amount of backlash if everyone switched to $100. Not all games are created equal. I think GTA is the only one that can get away with it, and I hope they do. I really hope it’s $100. I think it deserves to be $100.
“The scope and magnitude of this production deserves that price tag, but not everything is treated equally. It would be a disaster if everyone tried to match them.”
Stockman here is saying the sheer scope of GTA 6 will be of a magnitude higher than any video game before it. Certainly it’s rumored to have the largest development budget of all time. Rockstar has barely shown any of the game, so it’s unclear exactly how big and varied an experience it will be. But it seems like a safe bet that barring the worst disaster in video game history, GTA 6 will rewrite the record books when it comes to critical and commercial acclaim.
But is the world ready for the jump to $100? Earlier this year, a $100 GTA 6 was mooted by Epyllion CEO and analyst Matthew Ball in a lengthy presentation on the state of gaming in 2025. Near the end of the presentation, Ball said that “some gamemakers hope GTA 6 will be priced at $80 to $100, breaking the $70 barrier and helping $50 titles to move up to $60, $60 to do $70, $70 to $80 etc.”
“Packaged game prices have never been lower in real terms than they are today — even though budgets are at all-time highs and player growth is stalled,” Ball wrote. “GTA 6 could re-establish packed video game prices after decades of deflation despite rampant cost growth.”
Other analysts have poured cold water on the $100 suggestion though, saying that such is the huge excitement around GTA 6 that there’s simply no need to limit the game’s potential audience by pricing some out of the experience.
Indeed, recently published research claimed that if Rockstar were to go with $100 for GTA 6, it would actually cost the company money, with the revenue “sweet spot” remaining $70.
Price is just one of the many unanswered questions swirling around GTA 6. Another is what Rockstar plans to do with GTA Online. Could the company charge more for access to GTA Online? Will it be a standalone free download? Could Rockstar sell a subscription? Will Rockstar and Take-Two really keep GTA Online available at no additional cost, as before?
Hopefully it won’t be long before we get answers. GTA 6 is due out May 26, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
