This week, video game publishers will press ahead with an industry-wide effort to raise the standard price to $70. The move coincides with the debut of two new game consoles from Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp., a generational change that comes every seven years or so. There’s one complicating factor: an economic crisis that had doubled unemployment in the U.S. from levels before the coronavirus pandemic.
Inside publishing houses, a price hike has been plotted and dissected by executives for years. They point to inflation, as well as the ballooning cost to develop triple-A games, as justification. At one point, Sony discussed going even higher before settling on $70. Many of the game executives requested anonymity, apparently because they recognize the move is unpopular. In many cases, companies won’t acknowledge the fee increase, saying only that prices will vary by title.
