Summary
- Abubakar Salim, a prominent actor and video game developer, took a stand against the potential for $100 games.
- In a post shaed to Twitter, he called the notion “elitist.”
- In recent weeks, speculation has run rampant about games, particularly GTA 6, costing more than $100.
As speculation over the first modern $100 game continues to rise, one prominent actor and video game developer has taken a stance against what he’s calling an “elitist” mindset.
Taking to Twitter, Abubakar Salim, the creator of Surgent Studios, developer of 2024s Tales of Kenzera: Zau, shared his thoughts on what has quickly become a hot topic in the gaming industry.
Salim’s consumer-first mindset is a particularly refreshing take, though it likely won’t quell the ongoing discussion over game development and its costs. Most recently, EA shared its disappointment in sales of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, leading to massive layoffs around Bioware. Meanwhile, Alan Wake 2, a critical hit from 2023, just recently became profitable after struggling to make back its budget.
Even Salim’s own studio was forced to put its games division on hiatus, leading to staffers being made redundant. In other words, things are quickly shifting, for better or worse.
Related
A $100 Price Tag Would Work For GTA 6 And Absolutely Nothing Else
If games cost a hundred dollars, a whole lot of people won’t play games.
How Did We Get Here?
While the debate over the $100 game feels relatively new, it actually has roots as far back as June of last year, when Lars Wingefors, the CEO of Embracer Group, shared his belief that games could cost more, adding that it had been a discussion within the company. Those particular sentiments followed word from Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick about never ruling out price increases just a few weeks before.
Flash forward to January, and Matthew Ball, a gaming analyst, relayed word that developers were hoping that Grand Theft Auto 6 would cost $100 in order for others to follow suit. To this point, it’s unclear if GTA 6 will be $100, though there has been lots of speculation over the matter.
If it did cost more than $100, it wouldn’t be all too surprising. Back in 2020, when the PS5 and Xbox Series line of consoles were finally revealed, 2K, another subsidiary of Take-Two, shared that the “next-gen” versions of its NBA 2K series would cost $10 more compared to its “last-gen” counterparts, a move that was soon followed by other publishers before $69.99 became the normal price. Elitist, out of touch, unrealistic, whatever you want to call it, it appears like it’s a reality we’re rapidly headed toward.
