How much GTA VI will cost consumers (and rake in for publisher Take-Two) when it finally launches on May 26, 2026?
Ahead of a recent earnings call, Variety pressed Take-Two CEO Straus Zelnick for an answer in a world where some publishers are now releasing $80 video games. Earlier this year, one analyst even told Sky News that GTA VI could become the first $100 title.
Zelnick didn’t give much away, but said the U.S. publisher will continue using “variable pricing” when deciding how much to charge for its software.
“Our goal always is to deliver more value than what we charge, so we’ve had variable pricing at the company forever. As you know, the approach of the industry is to launch at a premium price, sometimes with special editions, and over time, typically to reduce the price to enhance the overall size of the market,” he explained.
“We do the very same thing. I think, probably more than most, we’re highly focused on making sure that the experience is great, not just because the game itself is great, but also because consumers have paid a fair price for it.”
Zelnick expanded (ever so slightly) on that answer during a recent investor Q&A (via Seeking Alpha) and said the company is perhaps taking a “different” approach to pricing when compared to some of its competitors.
“I think our approach may be a little bit different. We believe that any consumer experience is the intersection of the thing itself and what you paid for the thing. So our goal is to vastly exceed expectations. We want to put out the best entertainment on earth, and we want to deliver more value than what we charge for. And we think we’ve generally speaking, gotten that right,” he added
“Variable pricing has been the nature of this industry forever. Most frontline releases, we’ll go out at a higher price, so sometimes with special additions. And then over time, usually, the price is discounted to optimize for the largest possible market. And I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon. But the rubric that informs us is really that of delivering more value than what we charge.”
Take-Two raises net bookings guidance after “outstanding” first quarter
Discussing Take-Two’s business performance during the first quarter ended June 30, 2025, Zelnick said the company has made an “excellent start” due to ongoing demand for its core franchises.
Q1 net bookings increased by 17 percent to $1.42 billion, which was meaningfully above the company’s high-end expectations. Zelnick said that upswing was “led by the outperformance of several mobile titles, as well as the continued success of NBA 2K and the Grand Theft Auto series.”
Net bookings from recurrent spending also rose by 17 percent year-on-year and accounted for 83 percent of Take-Two’s total net bookings for the quarter.
Notably, Take-Two’s mobile business massively exceeded expectations thanks to the success of Zynga-owned franchises such as Toon Blast, Match Factory, and Color Block Jam.
“Toon Blast grew 22 percent over last year and nearly 75 percent on a two-year basis, driven by the ‘seasonal collection’ feature that provided a new avenue of engagement for the game’s millions of active players,” noted Zelnick.
Match Factory, meanwhile, achieved record net bookings and Color Block Jam became the highest-grossing title in the history of developer Rollic (which is owned by Zynga).
Elsewhere, Grand Theft Auto V exceeded expectations—with Zelnick suggesting the 12-year-old title benefitted from excitement generated by the second GTA VI trailer.
“During the quarter, engagement for Grand Theft Auto Online benefited from the record-setting launch of Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2 and the successful release of the ‘Money Fronts’ Summer content pack, which culminated in higher than expected recurrent consumer spending growth,” he added. “We are pleased that new player accounts for GTA Online grew over 50 percent year-over-year.”
Take-Two’s sports offerings also performed well. “NBA 2K25 delivered another quarter of fantastic results. To date, the title has sold-in over 11.5 million units, and engagement grew significantly year-over-year with Daily Active Users and MYCAREER Daily Active Users each up 30 percent, which helped drive 48 percent growth in recurrent consumer spending,” Zelnick continued.
Off the back of a bumper quarter—and with the launch of titles such as NBA 2K26 and Borderlands 4 in the pipeline—Take Two has raised its net bookings outlook for the fiscal year to between $6.05 billion and $6.15 billion.
“We have great confidence in our long-term pipeline and expect to achieve record levels of Net Bookings in Fiscal 2027 that we believe will establish a higher baseline for our business, and set us on a path of enhanced profitability,” finished Zelnick.
