GTA 6 could be the cheapest Grand Theft Auto game ever after inflation

Main points

• GTA VI launches on November 19 with a confirmed US price of $79.99.
• GTA III's original $49.99 price is equivalent to about $94.79 in September 2026 dollars.
• GTA VI could be the cheapest mainline GTA in inflation-adjusted terms.

Rockstar Games' highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is set to launch on November 19, with a standard edition priced at $79.99, compared with $59.99 for its predecessor, GTA V, when it launched in 2013.

Despite the higher price, an analysis shared by Reddit user u/razewerz on r/dataisbeautiful suggests players will pay less in inflation-adjusted terms than they did for earlier instalments.

The comparison, featured by World Visualised, uses historical US launch prices adjusted to September 2026 dollars using the US Bureau of Labour Statistics' Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

According to the graphic, GTA III, released in 2001 for $49.99, would cost approximately $94.79 in September 2026 dollars. GTA: Vice City, released in 2002 at the same price, would cost $92.90, while GTA: San Andreas, released in 2004, would cost $88.23.

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GTA IV, which launched in 2008 for $59.99, would cost about $94.09 today. GTA V's original $59.99 price would be equivalent to approximately $86.33.

That puts GTA VI's confirmed $79.99 price below all five earlier titles in the comparison after adjusting for inflation.

Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, confirmed the $79.99 price and November 19 release date in June. The game will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, with a $99.99 Ultimate Edition also available.

The figures highlight how inflation has changed the cost of video games over the past 25 years. Although GTA VI is $20 more expensive than GTA V was at launch, the earlier game's inflation-adjusted price is about $6 higher.

The latest US inflation data supports the need for such comparisons. Consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year to September 2026, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics.

The comparison suggests that GTA VI's higher sticker price does not necessarily make it the most expensive entry in the series when measured against the purchasing power of the dollar.