"I Hope They Do It": A Rival Developer Is Begging Rockstar to Charge $100 for GTA 6

While most gamers are hoping Grand Theft Auto 6 won't break their bank accounts, this game developer is actually rooting for the opposite.

Chris Stock recently shared his controversial opinion during an interview with EsportsInsider. According to the original design director behind the franchise that previously tried to challenge Grand Theft Auto’s throne, Saints Row, GTA 6 should carry a $100 price tag.

In his words, “I think that there’ll be a tremendous amount of backlash if everyone switched to $100. Not all games are created equal. I think GTA is the only one that can get away with it, and I hope they do. I really hope it’s $100. I think it deserves to be $100. The scope and magnitude of this production deserves that price tag, but not everything is treated equally. It would be a disaster if everyone tried to match them.”

Many new releases now cost $70, up from the long-standing $60 standard, and some Nintendo titles have even pushed into $80 territory. But the idea of a $100 game represents a psychological barrier that the industry hasn't crossed yet.

Could GTA 6 be the first? Stockman’s statement, while shocking, is backed by sound reasoning. The sheer scale and ambition of what Rockstar Games is creating is unprecedented. Industry estimates suggest GTA 6’s development budget could reach an unprecedented $2 billion, making it the most expensive entertainment product ever created.

For context, $2 billion is more than the combined production budget of Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Avatar: The Way of Water, the three highest-grossing films of all time.

But throwing money at a game doesn’t always guarantee success. In GTA’s case, Stockman explains that Rockstar is uniquely positioned to justify such a premium price point. He points to the studio's track record of never missing the mark with their releases and their ability to create games that provide years of entertainment value. Grand Theft Auto V, released over a decade ago, continues to generate massive revenue through its online component and remains one of the best-selling games each year.

Stockman was careful to emphasize that this pricing model shouldn't become an industry standard. He warned that if other developers tried to match a potential $100 price point without delivering the same level of content and quality, it would result in tremendous backlash from consumers.

This statement is in line with what Nigel Lowrie, who helped establish Devolver Digital, said earlier this year, describing GTA 6 as the industry’s first “AAAAA” game. And, for what it’s worth, some executives agree with what Stockman is saying, and surveys are suggesting that gamers are willing to pay a premium price for GTA 6.

The only question now is, will Rockstar actually break precedent and sell GTA 6 for $100 a copy? We’ll know for sure the closer we get to May 26, 2026.

Fingers crossed, we might even hear more about GTA 6 within the next month, ahead of Take-Two Interactive’s next earnings call.