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With Battlefield 6’s big multiplayer reveal set for July 31 and preorders rumored to open the same day, many are wondering if EA will charge $80 for the game’s standard edition. That remains to be seen, but new commentary from EA CEO Andrew Wilson suggests it may not happen.
“We’re not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage,” Wilson said during an earnings call, as reported by IGN. The executive added that EA already offers a “fairly broad pricing scheme” across its many releases, including free-to-play, paid, and deluxe editions.
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“Our orientation is always to capture the full spectrum of pricing so that we can serve players in the best way possible and offer them the greatest value,” he said. “We’ll continue to look at opportunities to deliver great value to our players through various pricing schemes over the course of time, but no dramatic changes planned yet.”
During EA’s previous earnings call three months ago, Wilson said much the same thing when asked about $80 games, so his new comments are no surprise.
A European leak recently suggested Battlefield 6’s standard edition would cost €80 ($94 USD), but EA has yet to make any official announcements. If preorders do in fact open on July 31, we should find out soon.
To date, Nintendo is the only major company to offer a new game for $80; it did so when it launched Mario Kart World earlier this year. However, players can get the game at a perceived discount through a $500 Switch 2 bundle. Microsoft was set to follow suit with $80 games later this year, beginning with The Outer Worlds 2, but the company backtracked and canceled those plans.
According to one analyst, consumers are ready and willing to pay $80 or more for new games, adding that every publisher in video games that believes it can raise prices will do so over time. As mentioned, that hasn’t happened yet beyond Mario Kart World, but the average selling price of new games could be above $70 when things like deluxe editions are factored in. Beyond that, games make money through microtransactions, and it’s expected that Battlefield 6 will have them, too.
Not every publisher is raising prices, though, as 2K Games will launch Mafia: The Old Country in August for $50. Parent company Take-Two said this decision was made to help the game reach as wide an audience as possible, while publisher 2K said the price point reflects how the game is not open world and doesn’t require a huge time investment. “We think there’s a large audience for compelling stories that don’t require massive time commitments,” 2K said.
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