Bank of America Says ‘GTA 6’ Should Raise Prices for the Entire Gaming Industry

The debate around Grand Theft Auto 6 pricing just got louder after a Bank of America analyst argued that Rockstar’s upcoming blockbuster should launch at $80—not just for profit, but to help push the entire gaming industry toward higher prices.

According to Forbes, the comments came after Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke at the IICON Video Game Conference in Las Vegas about rising development costs and how publishers think about pricing. While Zelnick stopped short of confirming an official retail price for GTA 6, Bank of America analyst Omar Dessouky later suggested that keeping the game at $70 could make it harder for other publishers to justify charging more in the future.

“We think it’s in Take-Two’s self-interest, as a publisher and partner to many developers, to raise the price point for the entire industry,” Dessouky reportedly said following the event.

His argument centers on the idea that Grand Theft Auto 6—already expected to be one of the biggest entertainment launches ever—has enough demand to reset consumer expectations around premium game pricing.

The conversation comes at a time when standard video game prices have already risen from $60 to $70 in the current console generation. Nintendo recently pushed further with Mario Kart World, becoming one of the first major publishers to publicly embrace an $80 price point for a flagship title. That move immediately sparked questions about whether GTA 6 would follow.

Zelnick’s own comments, however, focused more on perceived value than setting industry benchmarks. “How do we deliver something amazing,” he said, “and how do we make sure that what people pay for it feels very reasonable.”

Earlier this year, Zelnick also appeared to hint that GTA 6 would likely land somewhere in the $70-to-$80 range while discussing advertising inside games, suggesting players would not expect intrusive ads in a title they already paid “70 or 80 bucks for.”

The pricing discussion also intersects with Take-Two’s recent stance on artificial intelligence. Dessouky suggested AI could increase the value consumers get from games, though Take-Two has repeatedly emphasized that generative AI is not being used to create GTA 6.

Zelnick previously described the idea of AI independently building games at Rockstar’s level as “laughable,” insisting the company’s biggest titles are still crafted by human developers.

For now, Take-Two continues to hold firm on GTA 6’s November 19, 2026, release date, with marketing expected to ramp up later this summer.