Why are strategy games like Total war warhammer or Crusader Kings so expensive?

[ArcLight]

Why are strategy games so expensive? Total war warhammer is still $60 and there are a bunch of DLC that are like $10-20 each. Same thing with Stellaris. 4x games are the only type of game either than MMO's that seem to be super pricey.

Am I missing something? Is it insanely difficult to code a game like this? Is making AI expensive? Is it the map or the mechanics? or are they just greedy?

[Nomad]

The game goes on sale a lot and if the retail price isn't coming down, it's because there are still plenty of people buying the game at that price. When sales start to dry up, the price will come down.

[Nomad]

It's worth buying them both though. Really awesome game.

[Tito Shivan]

Messaggio originale di Marius:

The thing about CKII is that you do not have to buy all the DLC. There's only 3 or 4 recommened DLC for CKII.

People should really get out of their head the idea that DLC are Pokemon and need to 'catch-em all'

[/.]

Messaggio originale di MancSoulja:

Messaggio originale di Ƥlatinum Ⱥngel:

Dang, must've missed it, or prioritized something else over it, idk... Guess I'll have to wait for the next time it dips that low

Warhammer 2 has spent most of 2020 on sale.

https://pricespy.co.uk/games-consoles/computer-video-games/pc/total-war-warhammer-ii-pc--p4271764/statistics

I don't see Steam price on that website, nor is it in USD.

Either way, I'm not buying until it's a price I find worthwhile.

[Yasahi]

Messaggio originale di Ƥlatinum Ⱥngel:

I don't see Steam price on that website, nor is it in USD.

Either way, I'm not buying until it's a price I find worthwhile.

Well you could look at the price history here: https://steamdb.info/app/594570/

Seems to have regular sales, last being the Autumn sale for -66% at 20,39 USD.

The thing with Total War: Warhammer I and II is that they combine together into Mortal Empires. You can play races from both games on a huge map. With the amount of races, legendary lords and specific campaigns there's plenty of replay value, which also means the price doesn't really come down that much.

It's the most popular one in the franchise and there's Warhammer III coming out at some point. If you want the full Mortal Empires, you need all three which again keeps sales up.

Then there's the fact that it hits two niches, TW and Warhammer. Warhammer hobbyists especially are used to high prices if they've played any of GWs miniature games. Buying TW: Warhammer I and II with all DLC is far cheaper than collecting WHFB armies before.