Turns Out We're Not All Made of Money: Study Says a $100 GTA 6 Would Be a Financial Faceplant
Just as we were all preparing to sell a kidney for the next Grand Theft Auto, a new report suggests Rockstar might actually make more money by being slightly less evil with its pricing.
Ever since the first whispers of a new Grand Theft Auto began, the dread has been building. It wasn't just about the hype or the years of development; it was about the price tag. With Nintendo jacking up its prices and Microsoft hiking the cost of Xbox Game Pass, the rumor of a $100 GTA 6 felt less like a wild guess and more like an impending doom. We all just sort of accepted that Rockstar was going to bend us over a barrel.
But now, a new report from MIDia Research has dropped a truth bomb that should be echoing through the halls of Take-Two Interactive: getting greedy could cost them millions. The study, which surveyed over 2,000 US consumers, has a very clear message for Rockstar: a standard $69.99 price point will generate significantly more revenue than a rumored $100 sticker price.
The Numbers Don't Lie
The data paints a stark picture of consumer willingness to open their wallets. While a whopping 79% of people are happy to buy the game at a hypothetical $49.99, that number drops to a still-strong 60% at the current standard of $69.99.
But the moment you hit that three-digit mark, the floor falls out. Only 35% of consumers said they would "definitely" or "probably" buy GTA 6 at $99.99. That’s a massive drop-off. The study concludes that the revenue lost from the huge chunk of players who would just wait for a sale far outweighs the extra cash squeezed from the die-hard fans willing to pay anything.
The Sweet Spot
According to the analysts, the optimal price is right where it's always been: $69.99. At that price, they estimate that around 8.6% of the entire US adult population would buy the game, translating to a staggering 22.9 million copies sold and $1.6 billion in revenue. That's before a single Shark Card is even sold.
As Brandon Sutton, a games analyst at MIDia, put it, the study "outlines GTA 6’s immense appeal and commercial potential." A potential that, it seems, would be kneecapped by simple corporate greed.
Will Rockstar Listen?
This is the billion-dollar question. We already know that analysts are predicting absolutely obscene sales projections for this game. It's guaranteed to be a financial juggernaut no matter what. But this report makes it clear that there's a ceiling.
While Rockstar and Take-Two have remained silent, the data suggests that even a game as monumental as GTA 6 isn't immune to basic market principles. They could still go for the premium price, betting on the hype and the brand loyalty. But if they do, they'll be knowingly leaving a mountain of money on the table.
For now, all we can do is wait for the stormy adventure to arrive in 2026 and hope that, for once, the data wins out over the dollar signs. My wallet is praying for it.