Kotaku Launches 2002 Warp Week, Capping Series With Top 12 Games List

Q: Does playing the newest blockbuster game in 2026 actually cost the same as it did back in 2002?

Not exactly. In inflation-adjusted terms, a new blockbuster game in 2026 can be roughly similar to—or even cheaper than—a major game in 2002, but for many players it does not feel equally affordable. A typical top-tier console game in 2002 usually launched around $50. Adjusted into 2026 dollars, that is roughly the low-$90 range. By that measure, a 2026 $80 release such as Grand Theft Auto 6 is cheaper on paper than many big games from the early 2000s. That is why some inflation charts argue today’s premium game prices are not unprecedented. But the sticker price is only part of the story. Affordability depends on wages and total cost of entry. Reporting tied to GTA 6 noted that real average hourly earnings in the US were down slightly year over year in 2026, meaning purchasing power had weakened even before buying a game. Measured in work hours rather than CPI alone, an $80 game can feel harder to justify than a $50 game did in 2002. The hardware side is even less favorable today. In 2002, consoles like the PS2 had already started falling in price, while in 2026 many consoles have become more expensive over time because of tariffs, supply-chain strain, and AI-driven demand for memory and chips. One Kotaku-related comparison estimated a console-plus-GTA setup at about $660 for GTA 3 on PS2 versus about $680 for GTA 6 on PS5. So the game alone may cost about the same or less in real terms, but actually getting in the door often costs more now.

1 articles · Updated · Kotaku · Aug 10

Kotaku opened “Warp Week: The 2002 Edition” with a front-page package of stories, reviews and mock-period news posts revisiting gaming as if it were 2002 again.
Friday will cap the series with Kotaku’s top 12 games from 2002, while the site continues its regular present-day coverage alongside the themed features.
2002 is the focus because Kotaku sees it as an underappreciated but pivotal gaming year, marked by PS2 dominance, the Dreamcast’s exit and Xbox’s early Halo-fueled momentum.
The site framed the project as a mid-summer detour during a news slowdown before Gamescom and the fall release calendar accelerate coverage again.