How much will GTA 6 cost? How much is game going to cost, UK price - development cost to make

In July, rumours circulated suggesting that the development cost of Grand Theft Auto 6 - confirmed for a 2025 release date with a blockbuster announcement this week - could reach a staggering $2 billion, potentially marking it as the most expensive entertainment product ever.

Should this speculation hold true, it's conceivable that the game could also claim the title of the priciest video game to purchase, as Rockstar looks to recoup costs.

Gaming is already an expensive hobby, with new game prices surging to around $70 (£55) in recent years; acquiring new releases is becoming increasingly challenging, especially as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.

Ahead of the game's long-awaited trailer reveal, the potential cost of GTA 6 was a hot topic among fans and gamers, especially after one report suggested it may cost as much as $150.

That's about £120 in British money, far more than the standard price of even the most blockbuster current-gen games today.

So how much exactly will GTA 6 cost? Will it be in line with current gaming prices, or will Rockstar ramp up the price, knowing that they could do so and still likely sell millions of copies?

Could they even go for a bold new payment method, the likes of which haven't really been seen in the industry before? Here is everything you need to know about it.

Will GTA 6 cost $150?

The rumour of GTA 6 costing upwards of $150 rattled many of the series' fans, and worried those with an interest in the wider gaming industry.

Could Rockstar's inflated price tag set a bold precedent for other publishers to follow suit in the future? Could we soon be paying hundreds for new instalments of our favourite gaming franchises?

Well, probably not. It's not quite clear where the $150 rumour came from, but some have traced it back to unreliable 'leakers' and the website Niche Gamer, which in September said "Rockstar's upcoming game is rumoured to cost $150 dollars."

The site gave no reference or source for this information, but that didn't stop readers and fans picking up on the potentially false information and running with it.

However, not everyone was put off by the prospect of a high price tag, and plenty of GTA fans hit online message boards like reddit to proudly boast that "if it’s priced that way then yes I will buy it still.”

Will it be 'pay by the hour'?

Sky high prices are one thing, but another rumour has been doing the rounds which, in many ways, is much scarier.

In November, Strauss Zelnick, the head of Rockstar's parent company Take-Two, suggested that high-budget video games should be more expensive the longer they are, with an altered payment model to reflect this.

"In terms of our pricing for any entertainment property," he said during a recent investment call, "basically the algorithm is the value of the expected entertainment usage, which is to say the per hour value times the number of expected hours plus the terminal value that’s perceived by the customer in ownership, if the title is owned rather than rented or subscribed to."

That doesn't make much sense, but in essence, Zelnick was talking about the value that video games provide, and suggesting that game prices should align with the expected playtime fans will experience.

To put that into some context, say that GTA 6 cost £2 per hour of play. Considering GTA 5 took over 31 hours to complete the main story missions, that would have set players back £63.

That's not too far removed from what a full-price, new video game costs today, but we're using the rather modest example price of £2 per hour (who knows what figure Rockstar could come up with?), and only focusing on the game's core story.

A 'completionist' playthrough, mopping up all sorts of extras and collectables? That would set you back £166. Considering GTA 6 is expecting to be even more chock full of content - and will likely be bundled with its own, open-ended GTA Online mode somewhere down the line - this pricing method would make things pretty pricey indeed.

Thankfully, Take-Two has since clarified that Zelnick wasn't promoting a pricing model based on hourly rates, but was instead attempting to underscore the idea that publishers should aim to surpass expectations by providing a content-rich experience compared to the consumer's investment.

How much will GTA 6 cost?

Rumours aside, how much is GTA 6 actually likely to cost? Well, according to some analysts, gamers can expect it to retail in line with other big-budget blockbuster titles.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter has estimated that GTA 6's retail price will be $70 - as reported by Reuters. Although Rockstar hasn't confirmed this, it aligns logically with industry expectations.

So there you have it, GTA 6 is likely to be priced in line with other blockbuster video games when it arrives in 2025. We'll obviously update this article once details are confirmed, so check back regularly for the latest GTA 6 news.