Take-Two's CEO addresses the question of the affordability of games in the company's latest earnings call amid rumors of GTA 6 costing $100.
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With rising development costs, video games are slowly but steadily creeping towards the $100 price tag. Ever since GTA 6 was revealed, rumours that the upcoming open-world title will cost $100 have spread like wildfire.
However, in Take-Two Interactive’s latest earnings call, CEO Strauss Zelnick weighed in on the question of affordability regarding games, and he clarified that the company aims “to deliver way more value than what we charge,” stating that they’re “known for that.”
Take-Two Is “not in the business of creating revenue”, Explains CEO
While the question aimed at Zelnick was primarily focused on consoles getting more expensive, his answer was geared towards the affordability of video games instead, stating that Take-Two “is in the business for entertaining people” as opposed to chasing revenue. He believes that revenue follows as a result of entertaining people.
Focusing more on the affordability of video games, Zelnick explained how gaming is getting more affordable, with the company’s titles offering “extraordinary value for money”, and how prices of video games have “meaningfully declined” in the last 20 years.
Revenue comes from entertaining people. And interactive entertainment on a real basis, is getting more and more affordable all the time because we offer extraordinary value for the money. People engage with our properties for hours and hours and hours. And on a real basis, frontline prices have declined in the past 20 years, meaningfully declined. So we see it the same way, which is we do believe in democratizing access to what we do around here. We want everyone to be able to engage.
So, according to Zelnick, gaming is becoming more affordable due to the sheer value players are getting from experiences. He further explains that while the company offers “the best mobile experiences on earth free”, it’s not the same for console players, as they expect to pay for the value that they’re getting.
While this doesn’t confirm a concrete price point for GTA 6, Zelnick seems to be saying that, despite the price, players will get immense value from it, which is a given as it’s shaping up to be the biggest video game release of all time, shattering records. Players can easily expect to pour in 100s of hours and some more in GTA 6.
While Take-Two has assured fans that it’s focused on entertainment and not revenue, a price point hasn’t been confirmed for GTA 6, so it could cost anywhere between $70-$100. A price tag for the game should be revealed once marketing ramps up this summer.
Zelnick Confirms Rockstar’s Creative Marketing for GTA 6
Affordability was the second part of the question aimed at Zelnick, with GTA 6’s marketing making up the first part. It’ll be a behemoth in gaming, and when asked about how the company markets a giant like Grand Theft Auto 6, Zelnick states that they won’t put their feet up when marketing the game.
With how high the anticipation for Rockstar’s next game is, it’s technically marketing itself. However, Zelnick has assured that Rockstar’s creative marketing for GTA 6 in the months ahead will surprise people.
We are very fortunate the consumer anticipation for GTA VI is indeed huge. And one does have to be judicious in the way one markets such an extraordinary property. But rest assured that I think you’ll be pretty astonished by the creativity that Rockstar’s marketing team brings to consumers in the coming months.
It’s guaranteed that this year’s summer belongs to GTA 6, and with marketing beginning in the coming months, it’s safe to say that Take-Two is confident in the game making its November 19 release date. So, how much do you think GTA 6 will cost? Will it touch the $100 price tag? Let us know in the comments section below.
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