Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 boss hopes GTA 6 pushes game prices up because it’s “long overdue and also necessary for this business to survive”

Warhorse Studios co-founder Martin Klima has expressed hope that Grand Theft Auto 6’s $80 standard edition price point will pave the way for higher game prices across the industry. Speaking to PC Gamer, Klima argued that price increases are “long overdue and also necessary for this business to survive.”

The developer cited multiple pressures facing the triple-A gaming sector: development costs have surged in recent years while the audience for new releases has plateaued. The shift to digital storefronts has also eliminated the retail middleman, removing a traditional revenue source. These factors have coincided with industry-wide closures, game cancellations, and mass layoffs.

Klima acknowledged that raising game prices remains a contentious and risky move. “Everybody’s scared to death” to increase prices, he noted, but GTA 6’s publisher Rockstar and parent company Take-Two are uniquely positioned as “the only companies who can afford, or who can dare” to set this precedent. He hopes other studios will follow suit if GTA 6 proves commercially successful at the higher price point.

Notably, Klima expressed skepticism about GTA 6 itself, saying he doesn’t understand the franchise’s widespread appeal and won’t play it unless forced to. Despite his personal indifference to the game, he views it as potentially instrumental in reshaping industry pricing standards that would benefit struggling developers like his own.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 boss hopes GTA 6 pushes game prices up because it’s “long overdue and also necessary for this business to survive”

Sources