Some game developers are trying to justify $80 games

Gaming as a hobby is appearing to get more expensive. With the rise in prices for hardware and other aspects of video games, everyone is going to have to shell out more to engage with their favorite pastime. However, while the price of home game consoles and PC gaming has increased over time, one aspect of video games that's attracting a lot of debate is the price of individual releases. Not that long ago, it felt like $60 would be enough to buy most new releases that would come out at retail. But now it seems some developers are aiming to reach an $80 price point for their newest releases. And most players are not happy about it.

Much of this has to do with the changing economic times of the world, but most of what affects video games comes from within the industry itself. And as people struggle with the reality of games costing more, some developers are trying to be as honest as possible about why their games will garner a higher price tag. Change is coming in a very real way, and it's going to affect how everyone engages with video games as a hobby. But what are the legitimate reasons why games will cost more money? Here's how developers are trying to justify why games costing $80 moving forward are the right move for everyone.

Higher development costs

It costs more to make games

Making a video game and releasing it to the public costs a lot of money. Most AAA game releases that we see on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will cost millions of dollars to put together and be ready for release on specific platforms. But when you add the necessity of getting the attention of potential customers, the numbers get even higher. So before you know it, one game could have a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, all before anybody knows whether it will be a success. But what's scarier is that the overall cost of all this is getting even higher than before, affecting nearly every game developer. This is why new games like Mario Kart World for the Nintendo Switch 2 are going to cost $80 on release.

A lot of effects of the increasing cost of making games are being seen in the frequent layoffs and turnover within the gaming industry itself. Some companies just don't have the resources to sustain groups of people during or after the completion of a project, and in some of the worst cases, cancellations. One way to help offset this is to have games cost more at retail, putting much of the burden on customers to help solve the problem. In theory, this could work, but there are many factors that could affect why this may or may not be the best course of action. Regardless, this is where many in the industry are leaning.

Rising costs of releasing worldwide

Things like tariffs can be a problem

Releasing a game doesn't just mean doing so within the country it's developed in anymore. The majority of games that are made end up having releases in multiple regions, sometimes a simultaneous worldwide release for bigger games. This can help reach more players/customers in other territories and hopefully increase the revenue generated, but one small problem has been growing recently. Changes in policy between countries, such as the amount of money used to pay tariffs on goods. This affects many companies, especially bigger game companies that make consoles, and forces them to find solutions to compensate for the extra billing. Many have pointed to the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, which has been reported to have some issues stemming from the incoming tariffs in the United States.

Microsoft recently increased the prices of all its Xbox hardware releases, as well as the prices of games for its Xbox consoles. While the company did not explicitly say tariffs were the reason, many believe it to be because other companies are taking similar actions with their own products. Reports online cited Amazon's Jeff Bezos when he discussed showing the cost of tariffs on certain items sold through Amazon in North America. If it costs more to release products in different parts of the world, that money will come from somewhere, which will most likely be from the customers making the purchase.

More content means more money?

There's another aspect of this that has been in practice already for some time. Games that have come out at the $60 price point have not always contained the full amount of content developed for them, with publishers opting to have season passes with additional downloadable content available. These expansions end up boosting the price of new releases above the $60 price tag and sometimes into the $100 range to get the full experience and complete amount of content. Instead of having a partial $60 release, the option of having an $80 or more version with everything in there seems like a premium deal. This practice has grown in recent years because studios are trying to find ways around the rising cost of development. And while some studios with big releases have been able to make this work, others have not found the same level of success, but rather harsh criticism from players.

Most gamers who are eagerly awaiting Grand Theft Auto VI are going to be open to paying $80 or more for the game, mostly due to the notoriety of the series and anticipation of the new release. However, not every studio has a brand or name that garners that same level of power from players, yet more companies will see this happen and use the same tactics. To some, it comes off more as locking away content that could otherwise be added to the standard release, for the sake of profit. Although it's a smart business move that any studio would find viable, it affects the trust of players who would buy games.

Changes in price are coming

Whether everyone wants to admit it or not, change is coming to how we buy video games. Unfortunately, there is no way to stop the rising cost of games in stores or digital storefronts, especially when the price of releasing video games to the public continues to go up. Studios are going to continue to find alternatives to how they can balance out the cost and profit of game releases, even if the emotional reaction from players is not always favorable. As sad as it might make us all, change is coming to the price of games, and we're all going to have to deal with it.