The controversial boss of Embracer Group has discussed the topic of increasing the price of video games beyond $70 amid rising development costs and a brutally competitive market.
Lars Wingefors, who has laid off thousands of staff, shut multiple studios, and sold off subsidiaries in the last financial year, told GI.biz that pushing the price of video games higher is something Embracer has discussed, and that doing so would mean more video games would be released.
"I'm not saying you can't increase the price," Wingefors told the site. "But the reality is no one has tried it. If you create an enormous role-playing game, for example, with 100 or 150 hours of gameplay, very polished, and a unique experience, would the consumer be willing to pay more? If they would, they would have more products potentially coming to market. But no one tried it.
"It's something we have been discussing, but we are currently sticking to the practice of the industry. Would it be that one [company] one day that tries to increase pricing? That remains to be seen."
The triple-A video game industry collectively raised the price of its video games with the launch of the current console generation in 2020, but in recent months the $70 price point has become the topic of much discussion amid the industry’s ongoing struggles. Recent data points to gamers tending to favor older, live service games, such as Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty, leaving less room for new, full price games.
Indeed, Embracer has seen a number of high-profile flops, including the recently released horror revival Alone in the Dark, which Wingefors said was “a big investment” that “didn't catch enough consumers”.
"I think the industry is facing the same problem as all other industries, with inflation and rising costs of game development," Wingefors added. "And it's been hard to increase pricing [in] premium PC/console. The pricing of those products has been the same for many years, which means that the margin to succeed is less, and on top of that, there is a higher cost of capital. Ultimately when you make big investments or games, you need to play with teams you are very confident in, or with IPs you own or control, and have the full financial income.
"On top of that, the consumers have more content than ever to choose from. They love to engage in established IPs they've been playing before, which means it's harder to have them trying out new things or new IPs. It's just something we're all facing. It's a reality which we have been adapting to over the past year, and we will continue to adapt to that reality."
"The pricing of those products has been the same for many years... Wingefors’ comments suggest Embracer is waiting for another video game company to go first, essentially, before it follows suit with a price hike. But what company could justify such a move, which would likely be met with a backlash from gamers?
Rockstar is currently the subject of debate around this topic, with the Take-Two-owned company preparing to release GTA 6 late 2025. Rockstar has yet to announce a price for GTA 6, or how the game will be sold, but there are few other games that would move the needle quite as much as this behemoth.
In November 2023, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick said video game frontline prices “are still very, very low” compared to other forms of entertainment “because we offer many hours of engagement”.
“The value of the engagement is very high,” Zelnick added. “So, I think the industry, as a whole, offers a terrific price-to-value opportunity for consumers. That doesn't necessarily mean that the industry has pricing power or wants to have pricing power. However, there is a great deal of value offered.”
