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You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereMany analysts and industry professionals have claimed that the games industry is nearing critical mass as budgets balloon and massive projects such as PlayStations Concord become record-breaking failures. Speaking on social media, Baldurs Gate 3 director of publishing Michael Douse explained the true issue with the industry right now.Baldurs Gate 3 dev on the state of the industryWith many publishers hoping that GTA 6 will result in game prices increasing to as much as $100, Douse joked that publishers arent supposed to say this out loud!However, the Baldurs Gate 3 publishing director explained that game prices havent risen with inflation. In fact, games are still cheaper on the whole than they were during the SNES era, although sales are typically much higher in quantity.Douse explained that the real reason for raising game prices would also result in higher wages for individual developers. However, with the constant demand for higher profit margins from shareholders, this will never happen.A good company raises salaries in line with inflation so that their staff dont die or something, but games prices havent risen with inflation, Douse explained. This isnt the reason the industry is in the shit for now, but it is an uncomfortable truth.Douse also explained that the result of higher game prices should also give developers a bigger responsibility for a game developer is to make sure that the game they show lives up to that promise as players investments increase.At the time of writing, Baldurs Gate 3 has an RRP on PC of $59.99, almost half of what publishers are wanting to charge for new AAA releases. With thousands of hours of content and more on the way, BG3 is a massive hit that has managed to recoup its costs, but Douse explains that chasing a big hit is sometimes pointless.The industry is very aware that its a hit based industry, but living up to a hit is statistically impossible for everyone, he explained. This was much easier to manage when there were retail middlemen and people had less access to information, but for now its created chaos.While GTA 6 could survive at a $100 price tag, many other games could not. In fact, the majority of titles attempting to charge $100 for entry would fail, especially as services like Xbox Game Pass cheapen the barrier of entry for AAA experiences.That is indeed the problem. We are at a strange moment where retail is not defining output & content, but now nobody is. Theres no standard. Its difficult to parse. Its the wild west. The point is that perhaps Rockstar have enough clout to lay down the new law. And with that others will sink or swim? Douse explained.Additionally, Baldurs Gate 3 has been praised for being a complete package with no microtransactions and very minimal DLC. In AAA gaming, many companies crowbar microtransaction content into every possible facet of their titles for example, the NBA 2K sports games to make more money. Douse explains that even with a price hike to $100, games wouldnt leave this additional revenue on the floor.For now, theres no confirmation that GTA 6 will cost $100 or even $80 at launch. In fact, despite the games massive budget, the title is expected to launch at a now-standard $70, and its already expected to be the biggest entertainment launch ever at this price.Baldurs Gate 3Platform(s):macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Adventure, RPG, Strategy10VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share
