When Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War releases on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the game’s cross-gen bundle will retail for $69.99, and a standard edition will not be available on those platforms. The added development costs likely played some role in the price point, but the news will come as a disappointment to a lot of gamers. Neither Sony nor Microsoft has announced what the MSRP will be for first-party PS5 and Xbox Series X games, but it seems increasingly likely that the majority of games will come in at a similar price when the consoles launch.
Activision is not the first publisher to announce a $70 price point for a next-gen release. Earlier this summer, 2K Games announced that the next-gen versions of NBA 2K21 will also release at $70. A lot of fans were unhappy with the announcement, and many assumed this might represent an industry-wide shift. Xbox boss Phil Spencer commented on the situation last month, stating that the market will dictate where next-gen prices settle.
Videos by ComicBook.com
While an increase is certainly not the kind of thing that gamers want to see right before the launch of a new console generation, it should be noted that software prices have remained fairly stable for quite some time. In fact, software prices have actually decreased over the last 30 years, as many Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games retailed for $70 or higher, without accounting for inflation. Meanwhile, development costs around the industry continue to increase, and publishers increasingly rely on crunch to get games out faster.
It’s possible that the price for games like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and NBA 2K21 will be outliers, and most games will remain $59.99. However, it seems that things are starting to shift, and gamers planning to buy a new console this year should be prepared to pay a little bit extra for games.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is set to release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.
Are you disappointed about the price of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on next-gen systems? Is $70 too high a price point? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
