Xbox's Jonathan Stringfield told GamesBeat games either get much pricier or find other revenue such as ads, GAMINGbible reports, tying it to GTA 6's $80 price.
Sources gamingbible.com
GTA 6's $79.99 standard price keeps fuelling debate across the industry. GAMINGbible reports that Xbox executive Jonathan Stringfield told GamesBeat that in-game advertising could help contain price rises. He does not mention GTA 6 in the quotes cited; the site draws that link itself.
GAMINGbible quotes him: "We either need to dramatically increase the price of games, which I don't think would be terribly popular with folks, or we need to find other mechanisms to allow access." He adds that advertising, and adjacent recurring revenue such as subscriptions, "allows for an alternative". He wants integrations where they make sense, even at a smaller reach.
Not according to him: "There is zero world where there is intention, written, explicit, implicit, or otherwise, that ads will be an option in all games." He adds it might not apply to every console feature. GAMINGbible notes Xbox has weighed ads since 2022, first for free-to-play games, and now targets ad-supported cloud tiers.
The site argues the jump to $80 raised the bar for other publishers, with big projects ahead such as The Elder Scrolls 6 and The Witcher 4. That is GAMINGbible's reading, not Rockstar's position. An Alinea analyst already called the precedent risky, as we reported in today's earlier article. The game's exact prices stay on our price page.
Read also GTA 6 at $80: an Alinea analyst warns against copying the price
Nothing changes for GTA 6: no in-game ads are announced for Rockstar's game, which launches November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. But the remark shows how a platform holder sees life after $80. Whether players prefer higher prices or targeted ads remains to be seen.
Sources gamingbible.com
Reported Reported by the press, not confirmed by Rockstar
By Daniel Jasner · GTAVIFRANCE newsroom
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