During a recent interview, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said something that many fans have taken as the possible price range of Grand Theft Auto 6. And while $70-$80 is a possible price range for the upcoming open-world crime game, that's not what Zelnick said. Hype still remains at a high, of course, with fans also thinking that more official GTA 6 news is coming in April.
GTA 6's price has always been a talking point, with rumors suggesting it could cost as much as $100. And, by and large, those rumors are pushed by the fact that Rockstar could conceivably do that, and the game would still sell like hotcakes. At the same time, Rockstar conceivably could offer no more marketing on the game ahead of its release, no more trailers or anything, and it would still probably break sales records. That's because GTA 6 could get away with anything, but just because it could does not mean it should, nor does it mean it will.
What GTA 6's Strauss Zelnick Actually Said
During The Game Business Show with Christopher Dring, he and Zelnick discussed the prospect of in-game advertising in the PC and console space. Obviously, such a concept has been contentious since the moment it was brought to any gamer's attention, but Zelnick drew a fine line in how Take-Two approaches it. Specifically, he said, "for free-to-play titles, yes. For titles for which you've paid 70 or 80 bucks, no." Zelnick explained that there is some form of limited advertising in games like NBA 2K because "it fits within the vernacular"; that advertising would be there in real life, too. But, repeating that price point, Zelnick went on to say, "[It's] very difficult for me to believe that we would want to have interstitial advertising in a game that someone paid 70 or 80 bucks for, [it] would seem unfair."
Are these words confirmation that GTA 6 won't feature in-game advertising? Not really, but it's definitely closer to confirmation of that than GTA 6 costing 70 or 80 bucks. Many have taken the named price points by Zelnick as confirmation of GTA 6's price, and that's not what he said. He never said, "GTA 6 will cost 70 or 80 bucks." He said, 'Games that cost 70 or 80 bucks should not have interstitial advertising.' And if he said $100, that would perhaps be a stronger reference to a possible GTA 6 price point than "70 or 80 bucks" because, fun fact, most AAA games launch in the $70-80 range. Mario Kart World did. Ghost of Yotei did. Resident Evil Requiem did. Pokopia did. And unless all of those games are GTA 6 in disguise, saying "70 or 80 bucks" is a discussion of the wider industry, as is the context of the quote, and not GTA 6 specifically.
GTA 6 Fans Are Hungry
Image via Rockstar Games
Image via Rockstar Games
Image via Rockstar Games
Obviously, fans are hungry for GTA 6 news, and that's up to Take-Two and Rockstar's marketing to sort—but this was not that. Some fans may even be interpreting this as a hint of a confirmation, which is still confirmation, and that still doesn't quite make sense. As CEO, Zelnick's primary goal is to make Take-Two money. Confirming GTA 6's price in an industry talk, with no external pre-order incentives or marketing, doesn't make sense. And his role as CEO means keeping up appearances. Keep in mind: ahead of GTA 6's second delay, Zelnick said they were confident in the May 2026 release date.
Now, is it possible or even likely that GTA 6 will cost between $70 and $80? Yes. Will it have special editions that are more costly? Probably. But that is as true today as it was when video games first crossed the $70 threshold. The stretch to these remarks being a confirmation price point is as long as the GTA 6 protagonist Lucia's stint behind bars is.
OpenCritic Reviews
- Released
- November 19, 2026
- ESRB
- Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
