Are Video Game Prices Out of Hand?

Video game prices have been climbing steadily, and many gamers are asking: Are video game prices out of hand in 2025? With blockbuster titles now often costing $70 or more, plus the rise of costly DLCs and microtransactions, it’s no wonder players feel the pinch.

Why Do People Think Games Are Too Expensive?

We live in the 21st century, and with so many social media platforms, it has never been easier to voice your opinion. Granted, some people should keep some views and personal takes for themselves. But when it comes to the world of video games, there is one discourse that I keep seeing: “Prices of the video games are too HIGH!”. But are they Bob? Are they? 

Spoiler alert: The answer is NO!

But to explain this as objectively as possible, we need to look at a few other things before we make any judgment. Deal? Save your sighs and comments for the end. 

Comparing Games to Other Forms of Entertainment

The average price of a movie ticket in the USA is somewhere around $10. In Europe, it’s between $5-15 — it varies from country to country. The prices are pretty much in the same range for the rest of the world. 

For the sake of the article, we are going to assume that on average in the world we have to pay $10 for one movie ticket, which doesn’t include popcorn or a beverage. Nowadays, the length of the movie is usually around two hours. Everybody seems okay with that.  

How many movies do you watch monthly? Do you binge a few new shows on streaming platforms, then let subscriptions sit idle the rest of the month? Streaming services can add up, too.

The next one is paid subscriptions. How many streaming services are out there? How many are you subscribed to? And how many are you actually watching enough to get your money’s worth? It all depends but most of the time you’ll binge-watch something new over the weekend and for the rest of the month you just let it sit there. A great purchase for sure?

The Cost of Game Subscriptions

How about game subscriptions? There are many games that require you to subscribe monthly in order to play them. 

Let us look at the WOW — the monthly subscription to play the game is $14.99 but if you get a yearly plan, it costs $12.99 per month. Which comes to $155.88. If you stop paying, you can’t play it. 

I may have gone too far with the examples but you do get the gist of it. We somehow got to the point where we have people complaining that a one-time purchase of $59.99 is too much for the one game that you get to keep and play whenever you want. They start comparing the amount of money they spend to the amount of hours of fun they get.  

Gameplay Hours vs. Price: What’s the Real Value?

Gamers often say:

“I’ve spent $59.99 and I ONLY GET 10 HOURS OF GAMEPLAY, SHAME ON YOU”

Yeah, you did but did you have fun? Was it an enjoyable experience? What are the chances of you playing the game again? You see where I’m going with this. And if you say that you didn’t enjoy it, that one is on you too. A quick 10-15 minutes of research before buying usually helps avoid disappointment.

Personal Experience: GTA V Example

I bought GTA V for $59.99 when it came out and with the amount of hours I spent playing, I actually spent less than a 1 cent per hour for the game. If I compared the worth of the GTA V to others, I don’t think I would have bought any other game. And if developers looked at it that way, we would have missed out on so many great games. 

So, Are Video Game Prices Really Out of Hand? 

No, the prices of the games aren’t out of hand. It all comes down to whether you would enjoy playing the game or not. IF you think you would enjoy it and have a blast playing it then just buy it. And if it’s not for you, just move on. Look at it as buying the experience/entertainment and not a product. It’s as simple as that.

What Do You Think?

Are video game prices fair, or do you think they’re getting out of control? Drop your thoughts in the comments!

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