Potential US tariffs could hike game prices and hurt physical releases

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President Donald Trump is considering a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico
Many disc-based physical game releases are manufactured in the country
An analyst states this could raise both physical and digital game prices

President Donald Trump has reaffirmed that his administration is looking at bringing in 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico from February 1. This would add additional tax to goods imported from those countries and could have serious ramifications for gamers.

As explained by Mat Piscatella, executive director of games at market research firm Circana, a significant proportion of the physical disc-based games released in the US are manufactured in Mexico. A 25% tariff would increase the cost of bringing these games into the US for sale, which is likely to be passed on to consumers.

Piscatella anticipates higher prices if the tariffs are brought in, with even digital games being hit as publishers try to maintain price parity across both versions. He also states that the production infrastructure is unlikely to be moved to the US, citing the high cost of doing so and a lack of incentive to invest following the rapid decline of annual US video game software sales since 2021.

Despite a recent rise to a standard $70 rate, game prices have remained relatively constant and significantly below inflation for the past two decades. With game development costs ballooning, margins are tighter than ever and the addition of tariffs could be the tipping point that sends prices spiraling upward.

Could we begin to see games going for $90 or even $100 in the coming months? We’ll have to wait and see, but some analysts already predict that the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 could be the first title to break the “$70 barrier” - and that's before even considering the potential impact of the tariffs.

Any rise in prices would likely harm physical release sales, which are already relatively low.

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Dash is a technology journalist who covers gaming hardware at TechRadar. Before joining the TechRadar team, he was writing gaming articles for some of the UK's biggest magazines including PLAY, Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX. Now, when he's not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.