During the latest earnings call for publisher $80 Mario Kart World, which shocked many and may have been the catalyst for companies to begin charging more for games.

As reported by Eurogamer, EA CFO Stuart Canfield stated there will be "no changes in the current strategy at this point" when it comes to the pricing of EA-published games. CEO Andrew Wilson responded to a question about whether the company would follow the precedent set by Xbox and Nintendo, and stated that "pricing power" is quite different today than it was a decade ago and physical releases are getting smaller, and the industry has a lot of variable pricing currently, regarding Digital Deluxe Editions, Early Access, and more.

Why Fans Are Worried About $100 Games

Nintendo Opened The Floodgates, But Will $100 Games Become Reality?

It has been long-rumored that GTA 6 could cost $100, but with that game seeing a delay until May 2026, it actually ended up being Nintendo that opened the floodgates to an increase in game prices with Mario Kart World. Nintendo is introducing "variable pricing" for the Switch 2 games, with some being $80 and some being $70. Out of the blue, Xbox increased its console price by $100 for the Series X, with more price changes to come.

With GTA 6 predicted to be one of the largest entertainment launches in history, fans are concerned that game prices will continue to climb. Nintendo had to delay the Switch 2 pre-orders due to concerns about tariffs, which seemingly is the cause for an increase in price on almost every Switch 2 accessory. Game publishers are being affected globally by market trends and economic policies, so it is entirely plausible for games, like GTA 6, to potentially see a price tag as high as $100.

EA Is Promising Value - But For How Long?

EA Has A History Full Of Microtransactions, Battle es, And More

EA is currently promising value for their products, with Wilson saying: "whether we're doing something that costs a dollar or we're doing something that costs $10 or we're doing something that costs $100, our objective is always to deliver incredible quality and exponential value for our playerbase." However, it's worth noting that Wilson did acknowledge a $100 price tag specifically in this statement, and EA has a notorious history of implementing high-cost live service practices, like the infamous loot boxes in Star Wars Battlefront 2.

Fans seem to be against EA most of the time nowadays, with fans accusing EA of ruining several game franchises due to greed and putting money before ion. But EA also recently published Split Fiction, and it's widely regarded as one of the best games of 2025 so far, while featuring no microtransactions or "anti-consumer" practices. After some successes and some failures, EA may be on the right path now. Though it will take more than one good game to reassure fans that the games they produce are worth their asking price, whether that's $60, $70, or more.

Source: Eurogamer