Video game prices are at risk of reaching new levels as the threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs looms over the gaming industry.
Trump plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from the U.S. on Feb. 1 for Canada and Mexico, making imported products more expensive. In turn, it's expected that Canada and Mexico will impose matching retaliatory tariffs.
Game developing company Electronic Arts (EA Sports) has its headquarters located in Redwood City, Calif., where globally popular games like NFL Madden, Electronic Arts Football Club (EAFC) Soccer, and Battlefield were developed. Other companies have plants in Mexico and Canada.
Mat Piscatella, an analyst for market researcher and tech company Circana, said in a Bluesky post that he could see "a sharp downtick in the number of disc-based games that get released physically in the U.S., as much of that production infrastructure is in Mexico."
Trump has also suggested imposing a 60 per cent tariff on China, a major source of gaming.
If Trump’s tariff threat comes into effect, it may a chain reaction and drive up the price of popular video games for people living in Canada, making them unaffordable for some people.
And although the tariff threats can cause the price to go up, they have already been increasing for some time now.
One of the reasons video games are becoming more expensive is inflation. Another is the strong American dollar compared to the Canadian dollar. The exchange on Jan. 28 was C$1.44 for each U.S. dollar.
According to a Statistics Canada report released Jan. 21, 2025, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 2.4 per cent in 2024.
Excluding increases during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2024 annual average represented the highest increase since 2011, Statistics Canada reported.
As video game production is getting more expensive, companies want to maximize their profits as much as they can.
When the next generation consoles like the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S were released to the shelves in 2020, video game prices rose because of demand created by gamers to buy games compatible with the new consoles.
The next-generation consoles offered better graphics at faster speeds, but some people are worried about the price getting too out of hand.
Humber civil engineering student Peter Williams said video games are getting more expensive because of the number of resources it takes to develop a new game.
“I think it’s getting more expensive because of the better graphics games have now,” Williams said. “Technology is getting better every single day, but the price will always continue to go up.”
Some video games are free to download, which might sound good at first glance, but companies are still finding ways to make money off free games.
Micro-transactions are in-game purchases players can buy to enhance their experience. The most popular example of micro-transactions in free-to-download games is Fortnite.
Fortnite offers many in-game purchases that players can buy. One of the big reasons they are successful is because they do collaborate with celebrities and popular brands. An example is LeBron James, Billie Eilish, and Jordan brand shoes were available to purchase in the game.
Humber business management student Elijah White said companies make it very tempting to buy content in-game.
“When gaming companies collaborate with celebrities that I like, it’s hard not to purchase the content,” White said.
A video game expected to break price records when it is released is Grand Theft Auto VI. This is the most anticipated game that has yet to be released because it has been 12 years since Grand Theft Auto V came out and fans can’t wait for it to be released.
Williams said he is excited for GTA VI to come out.
“I’ve been anticipating GTA VI for years and I am so excited to play it when it comes out,” he said.
