The high cost of living is an open secret. With rising prices for gasoline and food, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick believes that GTA 6, priced at $80, offers "great value" considering the extensive playtime players can expect.
He told CNBC, "I think consumers are under pressure. These are challenging times. Inflation has hit the average consumer. Rising food prices and significantly higher gasoline prices have placed a heavy burden on them. Undoubtedly, this situation will continue as Christmas approaches. The entertainment industry is not immune to these factors either."
In this environment, what gives Zelnick hope is his belief that "interactive entertainment is actually a real bargain," especially for games like GTA.
"Games now offer very long playtimes. Even short video games provide at least 10 hours of gameplay. You can play Grand Theft Auto V for hundreds of hours without getting bored. We'll see how people react to GTA 6, but I believe it will keep you immersed for a long time. So, if consumers view entertainment value as a combination of game quality and playtime, then interactive entertainment is absolutely worth the price. As long as you meet people's needs, they will flock to your product, regardless of changing times."
The standard edition of GTA 6 is priced at $80, with an Ultimate Edition available for $100, which includes various additional in-game content. Grand Theft Auto V was priced at $60 when it launched in 2013; accounting for inflation, $60 today would be equivalent to approximately $85. Zelnick has repeatedly emphasized this point when explaining why GTA 6 offers good value. He also stated that Rockstar could have charged a higher price for GTA 6, but chose not to in order to make the game accessible to more players.
Although GTA 6 is actually priced lower than Grand Theft Auto V, which was released in 2013, the hardware required to run it tells a different story. Due to ongoing global shortages of components and memory, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles are more expensive than ever. If you don't mind streaming, Microsoft has just announced a 10-year agreement with Take-Two, which includes bringing GTA 6 to Xbox Cloud Gaming for play on older Xbox One consoles.
GTA 6 will be released on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms, and pre-loading has already begun.
Rockstar Official Press Release: Pre-load GTA 6 Now
Players who pre-ordered the digital version of GTA 6 can now begin pre-loading. Those who pre-ordered physical redemption codes can activate them and start pre-loading immediately upon receipt. If you haven't pre-ordered yet, act now to prepare for November 19.
GTA 6 was developed from the ground up to deliver the best possible experience on current-generation consoles, targeting a frame rate of 30 frames per second. It pushes both platforms to their limits, bringing the vast and rich world of Leonida to life while ensuring the density and visual realism of its environment and biosphere.
PlayStation 5 Pro will deliver stunning visual effects, enhancing clarity through PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), and will exclusively offer ray-traced shadows on PlayStation 5 Pro.
Grand Theft Auto VI on PS5 supports high-fidelity dynamic haptic feedback via the DualSense controller throughout the entire game, adjustable through accessibility settings. It also features optimized spatial audio rendering, allowing all in-game sound elements to fully leverage the performance of Tempest 3D AudioTech, along with faster load times, ensuring the best Grand Theft Auto VI experience on the PlayStation 5 platform.
The game will also utilize Xbox Series S graphics performance and be available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles via Xbox Cloud Gaming. As with all cloud streaming services, connection speed and technical factors may affect game performance, but local gameplay will not be impacted. Additionally, GTA VI will fully support Remote Play functionality on both PlayStation and Xbox.
Watch the newly released video today, featuring Tove Lo's "Blood in Your Eyes" from Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album. Visit the official website for more information on Grand Theft Auto VI, including pre-order links.
We sincerely thank the entire player community for their strong support. See you in Leonida on November 19.