Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed questions about Grand Theft Auto 6's pricing during the company's Q1 FY27 earnings call on August 7. When GTA 6 launches, it will cost $80 for the standard edition and $100 for a premium edition with extra content, a price point that breaches the traditional $70 standard also used by Nintendo for Mario Kart World on Switch 2.
Investors asked why GTA 6 would carry a higher price than other Take-Two titles, such as NBA 2K27, which is set to release in September at the standard $70. Zelnick responded that the company's goal 'is to deliver way more value to consumers than what we charge them,' arguing that 'the real cost of a AAA video game is a whole lot lower today than it was 20 years ago' and that 'pricing has not kept pace with inflation.'
Zelnick said GTA 6 would be 'an incredible bargain' given Rockstar Games' reputation for 'overdelivering,' pointing to GTA Online's continued strong engagement 13 years after its launch as evidence of the studio's track record. He said engagement, not price maximization, is the company's real goal, stating, 'Our goal is not to maximize price.'
He acknowledged that given the intense hype surrounding GTA 6, Take-Two 'could have made any number of other pricing choices' and charged more than $80. Instead, he said Rockstar felt that offering 'phenomenal value' at $80 suited some consumers, while the pricier edition offered 'incremental value' at a 'modestly increased price' for others.
Zelnick also touched on pre-order performance, describing it as 'exceptional' and 'unprecedented,' saying Take-Two has never seen anything like it before. However, he cautioned that pre-orders can be cancelled and that the company does not yet know how they will translate into final sales, saying, 'We genuinely don't know.' Analysts have projected GTA 6 could generate as much as $5 billion in its first week. The game is scheduled to launch November 19 on PS5 and Xbox as a digital-only release.