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How Rockstar Games weaseled its way out of discounting GTA V on Steam
The Steam Summer Sale is a time for PC gamers to rejoice in hundreds of discounts on some of today’s top games, but it seems like some game studios do not want to play fair. A quick glance at Steam might lead you to think that Grand Theft Auto V is one of the many games that are on sale, but do not trust the “-25%” logo next to the game—it lies.
The regular price for the PC version of GTA V, which was just released in April, is regularly $59.99 on Steam. The game is still $59.99 on Steam.
So how can Rockstar get away with saying the game is 25 percent off when it is the same price as always? Easy—they bundled the game with other items that would normally drive the price up to $79.98, then discounted the price back down to $59.99.
There are a few different bundle options for GTA V currently on Steam, one of which comes with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Sounds like an ok deal, right? Two games for $59.99? Really, you’re paying full price for GTA V and getting San Andreas for free, a game which is currently on sale on Steam for $3.74.
The bundle also comes with a Shark Cash Card, which contains in-game cash for Grand Theft Auto Online. The card essentially offers users free fake virtual crap, which would be fine if it were not added for the sole purpose of inflating GTA V’s pre-sale price. It is also a little shady that Rockstar is giving away a currency whose value can be changed at the studio’s discretion. Oh, and Shark Cards can’t be returned under Steam’s new refund policy.
The main takeaway from this is Rockstar gets GTA V on Steam’s front page during a huge spike in traffic without actually having to lower its price.
Rockstar would not be the first studio to raise its prices ahead of a Steam sale. War Thunder developer Gaijin Entertainment has been accused of using similar tactics in past sales, and it is apparently doing it again for this sale.
The deals on some of Rockstar’s other game are actually decent, but more than a few fans are disappointed by their shady business tactics.
Screenshot via Steam Client
Gif credit: /u/EditingAndLayout via Reddit
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