As Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 6 is pushed as a potential $100 game, Skyrim and Fallout 4 designer Bruce Nesmith has pushed back against potential higher prices in the games industry.
Nesmith, who started game development working on early Apple II games, spent decades creating AAA games, including one of the most popular video games of all time: Skyrim. While game prices have increased drastically over the last generation, the game designer has warned that studios need to be careful about raising them even further.
Speaking in a recent interview, the Fallout developer explained that the last price increase from $60 to $70 for the majority of games might’ve been a fair jump, but pushing those prices higher will cause gamers to just not buy your game.
“I remember for 15 years, the price of a newly released game was $59.95,” the designer said. “For 15 years, it didn’t change. Not even a cost of living increase. Not even recognizing inflation. It stayed at that price point. The fact that the prices are going up, I can’t fault them for that.”
There’s always been a saying that a game should give you a certain amount of hours per dollar, although not everyone agrees with that. “I don’t think players look at the hours of experience per price of the title once it gets past a certain number,” Nesmith said, explaining that the price will “immediate[ly] hit you in the jaw” as soon as it’s too high.
Nesmith explained that they “personally think game developers would be wise to not push the prices higher” as “gamers are a special breed”. While some will pay extraordinary amounts for their hobby, it’s very easy to make a product look like a rip off. “You know, they will pay for what they want,” the designer said.
While Nesmith couldn’t possibly comment on what price a game like GTA 6 will be, he explained that The Elder Scrolls 6 will likely charge whatever the “industry standard” is at the time. Of course, the game will also be available via Xbox Game Pass, which may soften the blow for some players, or exacerbate the situation if the price is too high.
“I think that they would most likely sell The Elder Scrolls 6 for whatever the industry standard price is at the time,” he said. “If consumers are accepting $79.95, that’s what it’ll sell for. If they’re accepting $99.95, that’s what it’ll sell for. It’ll sell for whatever premium games go for at that time, and Microsoft has a heavy say in that and how it’s marketed.”
The Elder Scrolls 6 still doesn’t have a release date, but the game is in full production over at Bethesda Game Studios. Todd Howard has confirmed that the game will not launch before GTA 6, pointing to an 2027 release date at the earliest.
It’s worth noting that some game releases are focusing on lower-price releases. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched at $40 and became one of the biggest games of the year. Additionally, Arc Raiders, which also launched at the same price, has already made back more than 6 times its budget. Helldivers 2, another $40 game, has sold more than 20 million copies.
