Will we see a price shock for video games in 2025? If analyst Matthew Ball has his way, that’s entirely possible. In a 219-page analysis, he looks at the central role of GTA 6. The game could reset price limits and perhaps free the gaming industry from its slump.
Who is the analyst? Matthew Ball is the CEO of Epyllion and analyzes video games, films and TV series. He has written non-fiction books like “Metaverse” and cites the fact that big tech people like Tim Sweeney, Mark Zuckerberg and Phil Spencer have spoken well of his work as evidence of his expertise (via matthewball).
An analyst’s job is to inform investors who want to put money into the market so that they make the right decision when it comes to which companies to invest in.
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GTA 6 could cost up to €100
This is what he says now: In a 219-page analysis, “State of Video Game in 2025,” there is also a passage that focuses on the growth of the industry.
With GTA 6, he believes there is a possibility that Take Two could price the game at $80 or even $100. That would correspond to a euro price of up to €100 or €110.
How does he come to the analysis?? In the hundreds of slides, Ball deals with an increasingly dire situation for video games. The games are becoming more and more expensive, there are more and more “black hole” games that bind players so much that they don’t want to buy new games, the market is exhausted. This is proven by the numerous layoffs in the gaming sector in recent years.
In one segment he deals with growth engines that could stimulate the industry. Here, an increased price due to GTA 6 is one of the growth factors that he sees. Because alongside Minecraft and PUBG, GTA 5 is one of the biggest bestsellers of all time. So there’s a fair amount of leverage there.
GTA 6 could allow all companies to charge more money for their games
Why is this important? Typically, AAA games cost $70, which is approximately €80. Games like Skull and Bones, which was touted as a AAAA game from Ubisoft, were priced so high.
If GTA 6 exceeds this price limit, it would set a precedent that would then also allow other games to go over the price limit of 70 or 80 € and basically set games at around 100 €, according to the motto “Our game is too AAA and we want a AAA price.”
If a game could afford to break through this price barrier for the first time, it could actually be GTA 6, which is seen as the “next milestone in gaming.” Ball’s thesis is sparking discussion as to whether this price increase will “save” the gaming industry ” can.
The view that GTA 6 could make all video games more expensive was already expressed in mid-2024 by experienced video game developers such as Michael Douse, who worked on Baldur’s Gate 3. Because manufacturing costs and inflation have driven up prices: GTA 6 could make all games more expensive, believes a developer of Baldur’s Gate 3