Activision Blizzard says they'll share plans for next-gen game pricing "soon"

Activision Blizzard isn't quite ready to say how much their games will cost when the PS5 and Xbox Series X usher in the next-gen, but news on that front is coming shortly.

During the Q&A section of Tuesday's quarterly earnings conference call, Activision president Rob Kostich was asked about the company's plans regarding pricing their next-gen games.

"What I'll say here is we'll be sharing our plans soon," Kostich said. "For now, we're just very excited for the launch of the new generation of hardware. We think it represents another strong leap forward in creating really incredible entertainment and value for our fans as we move forward."

This comes as Take-Two Interactive is grappling with the response from its own next-gen pricing model, which has NBA 2K21 launching at $70, an increase from current-gen pricing by $10. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says the price increase is justified due to the "value" and "extraordinary quality" of their next-gen games.

Ubisoft, meanwhile, has committed to carrying the $60 standard price tag to their next-gen games, at least those released in 2020. "For the Christmas games, we plan to come with the same price as the previous generation of consoles. That's what we're focused on at the moment," said CEO Yves Guillemot.

The $60 video game has been standard since 2005, so inflation alone is enough to justify the price hike, at least on paper. The prevalence of microtransactions and the 'Games as a Service' model complicates the debate significantly. Ultimately though, it's up to the individual publisher to determine their prices, and we're expecting to hear more on the matter from major game companies in the coming weeks.

Opinion: A rise in game prices is inevitable, and ultimately good for gamers.