Speaking at iicon, a new conference for video game executives, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed the widely discussed question surrounding the potential price of Grand Theft Auto 6.

While he did not confirm how much the game will cost, he appeared to push back against the idea of a “super-premium” price point that has been speculated in the industry, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

“Consumers pay for the value that you bring to them, and our job is to charge way way way less of the value delivery,” Zelnick said. “How you feel about something you buy is the intersection of the thing itself and what you pay for. Consumers need to feel like the thing itself is amazing and the price they were charged was fair for what they got.”

He added that video game prices have effectively become cheaper over time when adjusted for inflation, noting that major releases have remained around $60, and more recently $70, for more than a decade despite broader economic price increases.

“If you look at it through that lens, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” he said. “But that isn’t the lens through which we look. Instead, we look at… how do we deliver something amazing, and how do we make sure that what people pay for it feels very reasonable.”

Zelnick also spoke about the immense expectations surrounding Grand Theft Auto 6, saying he is “terrified” of how success for the game will ultimately be measured. However, he emphasized that both he and the development teams are focused on delivering a high-quality experience rather than worrying about performance metrics.

“What we think about is making the most spectacular piece of entertainment on Earth, in history – and it’s a pretty daunting challenge,” he said. “If we do that, and if we’re of service to our customers, then the upside will take care of itself.”

He also made a lighthearted comment suggesting the game’s release could be highly anticipated by fans, saying he believes “a lot of people will be calling in sick on November 19.”

Elsewhere in the discussion, Zelnick offered cautious optimism regarding the future of L.A. Noire. He suggested that revisiting legacy intellectual property remains a possibility for Take-Two.

“Broadly, we’re looking at doing something in the future with all of our intellectual property,” he said. “There’s nothing to announce on L.A. Noire specifically, and if there were, it would be Rockstar announcing it, not me. But in any case, with regard to our legacy IP, the teams are always looking at what we have and we’re always thinking about it. The question is, at any given time, do we have a team that’s passionate about working on that?”

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev