Millionaire YouTuber argues playing GTA 6 could actually save you $5,000. Audience says 'finally, a financial advisor I trust'

“Buying GTA 6 can actually save you $5,000,” said Mark Tilbury, a U.K.-based financial maven with 9.35 million YouTube subscribers, in an early November video titled “How GTA Could Save You $5,000.”

“The game itself costs $99.99. If it takes 80 hours to complete, that’s $1.25 per hour of fun,” he noted, tapping at a calculator on the video.

“But once you add side missions, you’re down to 50 cents an hour,” Tilbury noted. “Now let’s say you play for four hours every evening. That’s 50 nights of entertainment. Compare that to going out where you can easily spend $100. That’s why buying GTA 6 actually saves you $5,000.”

Call it a hot take or call it a ploy for subscribers — either way, viewers liked what they saw.

“Finally some financial advice I can follow,” said commenter Business60.

“Sending this to my parents ASAP,” added Moath.Alrifai2013.

Here’s what actual investment professionals say

Financial experts agree that staying home and playing video games will spare the household bank account, but there are caveats.

“Absolutely; a night out in the U.S. these days can often cost in the $200-500 range,” Patrick Vishy, a Guadalajara, Mexico-based trader specializing in financial psychology and risk management, told Moneywise. “A game where you can drop 300+ hours into it is anywhere from $15 (for an older game) to $100 (for a deluxe version of a newer game). Math is math; this is a huge savings over time.”

Yet the equation changes if a homebound gamer lives it up while staying and playing.

“There is a right and wrong way to do everything,” Vishy stated. “If you game for a few hours a day, cook your meals, and leave time for exercise, then you can save thousands throughout the year and maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Any variation from that routine and costs can start stacking.

“If you game and smoke weed all day, get all of your food delivered, spend a bunch on in-game purchases, and fall into a deep funk over time, then it can often cost you more in the long run, and not just monetarily,” Vishy added.

Other professionals say the $5,000 number is questionable.

“Tilbury is assuming that there are 50 nights in which you will play games and you’ll trade these in for 50 nights out at $100 per outing,” Joe Braier, CEO and president at Lake Country Advisors in Waukesha, Wisconsin, told Moneywise. “However, even after buying a game for $100, there still remains $4,900 left. I’d look at past spending for outings that would be canceled and subtract that from the expense of remaining home.”

Braier also noted that Tilbury didn’t add any additional expenses from gaming, such as the purchase of a new console, subscription fees, or in-game items you might not have purchased otherwise. He also warned gamers to pay attention to whether they were gaming during hours when they otherwise could be doing paid work — a definite net loss.

Gamers advise all things in moderation

Ask a genuine video gamer, and they’ll tell you Tilbury is onto something.

“Yes, it works, when the game replaces something you’d really pay for,” Wojciech Jaworski, founder of ChineseDLC.com, which builds Chinese content for Western games, told Moneywise. “Per hour, games are some of the cheapest entertainment there is.”

Jaworski said he bought two VIP tickets for the new Dune movie in Poland for about $25, food and drinks included. “That’s about $4 an hour each for a three-hour night,” he noted.