Overview

• Nintendo's Mario Kart World for the Switch 2 and Microsoft's upcoming first-party titles will launch at $80, establishing a new standard for AAA game pricing.
• EA has confirmed it will not raise its game prices for now, with upcoming titles like Madden NFL 26 and EA Sports FC 25 expected to remain at $70.
• Ex-PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida highlighted rising development costs and inflation as key drivers for price increases, while pointing to smaller-scale successes like Expedition 33 as sustainable alternatives.
• Generative AI is being explored as a tool to streamline game production, but Yoshida emphasized that human creativity remains central to development.
• The industry continues to debate balancing affordability with ambition, as speculation grows over whether other publishers, like Rockstar with GTA 6, will push prices even higher.