This generation has marked the arrival of $70 AAA game releases, as most publishers bump up their base prices to make up for increased development costs, and inflation. The move has been somewhat controversial, and Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch reckons it's not here to stay - despite the team gearing up for its own $70 release with Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2.
In a wide-ranging interview with IGN, Karch talked about spiralling development costs and their associated game price bumps. The Saber CEO thinks that $70 releases aren't sustainable, and that game companies will eventually find ways to lower development costs rather than increase prices.
"I think that as games become more expensive to make, the $70 title is going to go the way of the dodo [bird]. I do. I just don't think it's sustainable…
I think the market is going to shift to development which is not necessarily lower quality, but there's going to be an emphasis on trying to find ways to reduce costs."
Funnily enough, it seems that Karch himself doesn't actually want to sell the aforementioned Space Marine 2 at a $70 price-point. Instead, he thinks it's necessary to do so to ensure that gamers don't associate it with a 'poor quality' release - as discussed in IGN's chat with the Saber CEO.
Regardless of whether high-end game prices do eventually drop, the upside to the market right now is its sheer range in pricing and release models. We have the likes of Xbox Game Pass delivering great value at a low monthly cost, while titles like Sony's Helldivers 2 can just come out of nowhere at a budget price-point and sell incredibly well.
We can only wait and see where the industry is headed once dev costs and inflation increases get under control (if they ever do), but in the meantime, we're very grateful for the amount of low-cost options in gaming right now.