GTA 6 at $100? Why It Might Actually Be Worth Every Penny

GTA 6 is shaping up to be the event game of 2026, and the chatter right now is that it might launch at a cool $100. Pricey? Yep. But for a Rockstar release, the case for that sticker shock is... not crazy.

Rockstar calls GTA 6 the "most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet."

Quick housekeeping: the release date floating around is May 26, 2026, and the platforms are PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The $100 figure is still a rumor, but here are the arguments fans and industry folks keep pointing to.

1. The biggest leap GTA has ever taken
   Rockstar is pitching this as a true step up, not a half-measure. From what we have seen, the world of Leonida looks huge and dense, with crowds that act like actual people, physics that behave like the real world, slick visuals with ray-tracing-level shine, and a ton of interiors you can actually go into. There has also been a lot of talk that the second trailer doing the rounds was captured on a base PS5, which, if accurate, says a lot about how well this thing runs on standard consoles. And let’s be real: Rockstar’s open worlds are never empty. They cram them with main missions, side activities, and weird little encounters you stumble into, plus a meaty story on top. In other words, a lot of game.

2. The budget is reportedly enormous
   Estimates peg GTA 6’s development cost north of $1 billion. You can see where the money went in the footage so far: the scale, the detail, the animation density in Leonida. It’s a massive, ambitious swing that’s almost certainly going to be the biggest launch the medium has ever seen. Will Rockstar recoup fast? Absolutely. But a higher sticker price also helps them keep delivering at this level without dialing back on scope next time.

3. A new GTA Online that might hit day-and-date
   One very plausible scenario: Rockstar drops the single-player campaign and the next-gen GTA Online at the same time. If that happens, you’re effectively getting two AAA releases in one box. Think GTA Online with better visuals, sharper physics, fresh modes, and a whole new content pipeline. That alone carries a ton of value for people who live in the online side for years.

4. Years of updates and support
   GTA 5 and GTA Online are still alive and kicking more than a decade later. That kind of long tail matters. Expect the GTA 6 online suite to get the same constant updates, expansions, and seasonal drops, and hopefully, this time, some single-player DLC too — the one thing GTA 5 never got. Paying more stings less when you know the game will keep evolving for ages.

5. Inflation is doing what inflation does
   Base prices for big-budget games have already climbed to $70, and very few launch below that now. Development costs keep rising, and the dollar doesn’t go as far. Like it or not, that pressure lands on the shelf price. The counterpoint is that Rockstar is one of the rare studios from the 2000s still shipping giant, wildly polished, detail-obsessed worlds on a regular basis. If anyone can make $100 feel justified, it’s probably them.

Where things stand right now

Developer: Rockstar Games
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Rumored release date: May 26, 2026

So, is $100 tough to swallow? Definitely. Is the case for it at least understandable with GTA 6? Also yes. If Rockstar sticks the landing, the work on display will likely be louder than the price tag.