Recently, Martin Klima, co-founder of Warhorse Studios, expressed his hope that the success of GTA 6 would encourage other studios to increase their game prices. He believes that game production is becoming increasingly expensive and requires higher prices to support development investments.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Klima stated that the GTA series does not appeal to him, and he has no plans to play the new installment. However, he acknowledges Rockstar's technical achievements and still hopes GTA 6 achieves the level of success anticipated by the public. He hopes strong sales of the new title will create opportunities for other studios to raise their prices.
Discussing the reasons for price increases, Klima believes that as computing power improves, players have higher expectations for the scale and complexity of new titles, leading to rising development costs. In his view, with limited room for audience growth, per-unit revenue from digital sales nearing its ceiling, and insufficient new revenue streams, raising unit prices has become one of the remaining options.
Klima stated that many publishers are worried about being the first to raise prices and hope that Rockstar Games and Take-Two will lead the way. Take-Two has confirmed that GTA 6 will be priced at $80, but whether other publishers will follow suit remains merely Klima's expectation for now.