There you have it: Grand Theft Auto 6 costs $129.95 in Australia. That’s for the standard edition, at least. The fancy ‘Ultimate Edition’ costs $159.95, but it’s not unheard of for game companies to sell a pricier version packed with a bunch of extra digital content.
But the inclusion of what’s in the Ultimate Edition has caused some controversy. Rather than some optional goodies, like different cars and weapons (which are among the inclusions), some of GTA 6‘s in-game shops are exclusive to the more expensive version. As mentioned on the game’s official website, some car shops and hair salons are “only open for business with the Ultimate Edition”.
With the GTA 6 price locked in, pre-orders are live now, with the game scheduled to launch on 19 November. Big W already has a small discount on the game’s standard edition, pricing its pre-orders at $125 across both PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Here are the current online listings in Australia:
Grand Theft Auto 6 Standard Edition
- PlayStation: $129.95
- Xbox: $129.95
- Big W: $125
- EB Games: $129.95
- JB Hi-Fi: $129.95
- The Gamesmen: $129.95
Grand Theft Auto 6 Ultimate Edition
Notably, the physical editions of GTA 6 won’t include a disc in the box. Instead, they will include a download code that players can redeem to start pre-downloading the game on 12 November, but it won’t be playable until the 19th. It’s likely a tactic to avoid overloading servers on the game’s launch date, which is set to be busy.
Why is GTA 6‘s price significant?
Rockstar Games’ announcement ends months of speculation around the price of GTA 6. Being the long-awaited follow-up to one of the best-selling games of all time, there was plenty of talk about the price tag being significantly higher to account for the game’s large scope and lengthy development time.
For a bit of background, Bloomberg journalist Jason Shreier published a good explainer on YouTube recently about why games cost so much to make. Essentially, because modern games are so big, more people are working on them for longer, with the bulk of development budgets going to employee salaries.
However, despite development costs increasing, consumer prices for video games have remained mostly stagnant in recent years. Nintendo made one of the first moves to change this, pricing premium Switch 2 games, like Mario Kart World, at $119.95.
Overseas, GTA 6 costs US$80, above the usual price range of $60-$70 for a full-priced game. Here in Australia, the $129.95 pricing isn’t that far off the $124.95 sticker for a flagship PS5 game, like God of War Ragnarok.
Still, it’s a new price category, regardless. It might bust down the door for other game developers and publishers to follow, or it could be a move that can only be justified by Rockstar Games’ tentpole release.
The post $129.95 starting price for GTA 6 confirmed as pre-orders go live appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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