Want to play GTA VI? It night cost you more than you think

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) VI arrives November 19 as gaming's biggest system seller in decades, the kind of release that makes people buy new consoles purely to play it. 

However, the people who want to jump in would hit a rather odd snag: the gear it runs on has turned prohibitively expensive. The PlayStation 5 base setup now lands at $649.99, which is a jump from $499.99 back at launch, and honestly that’s a big difference. 

The PS5 Pro goes for $899.99 too. On the Xbox side, the Series X has risen to $799.99, while the Series S, at least, starts at $499.99, so it’s not as bad.

The sales volume of GTA V is 230 million copies on multiple generations of consoles since its release in 2013. However, the combined total number of current generation consoles is only 120 million, with PS5 selling 90 million units and Xbox Series consoles 30 million units.

Regardless of all that, if each and every person owning either a PS or Xbox purchased GTA VI during its first day of release, then the game would not match up to its predecessor’s sales figure. Sales figures for PS5 have already started falling because of their recent price hike.

GTA VI itself costs $79.99, more expensive than standard games. Physical copies contain no disc, requiring full downloads. Microsoft has warned that storage and memory component prices have increased 2.5 times and expects them to double again by fall 2027. 

Even PC gaming offers no escape. Valve's Steam Deck alternative starts at $1,049 for capable performance.

Few entertainment products are too big to fail, and Rockstar's franchise has the staying power to reach its audience over years; GTA V still sells more than a decade after launch.