With the looming launch of Grand Theft Auto VI hanging over the entirety of the games industry, one question has been hanging over everyone’s mind – how much will Rockstar charge for the game? Well, with the opening of pre-orders tomorrow, the answer has become clear. In an unexpected turn however, the handling of the game’s physical release has subverted many people’s expectations, as Rockstar Games confirmed today that Grand Theft Auto VI’s physical release will be limited to a code-in-box at launch.
Grand Theft Auto VI is the long awaited follow up to 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V, the second best-selling video game of all time at a staggering 230 million copies sold. The game was initially revealed by Rockstar in 2023 with an original release date of November 2025, before slipping to May 2026, before (seemingly) settling on a release date of November 19, 2026.
Following the announcement that GTA 6’s pre-orders will open tomorrow, June 25, Rockstar released information today detailing the game’s editions and launch price. While the standard edition of the game is now confirmed to launch for $80 USD, the physical release has also been revealed to be a code-in-box release, with no disc version available for launch.
The code-in-box release of Grand Theft Auto VI will release one week earlier than other versions, on November 12. According to the developer’s parent company Take-Two Interactive, this is to allow owners to pre-load the game to their platform of choice ahead of launch.
While Rockstar has not commented on why it is forgoing a disc release for GTA 6 at this time, it’s theorized that this is to avoid leaks. The game has already been the subject of leaks stretching back to before its reveal, when the studio was hacked and unauthorized development footage was released online in 2022. For this reason, there is still room for the game to potentially receive a disc print after launch for those who wish to double dip, which would potentially help boost its sales towards the astronomical heights of its predecessor.
Grand Theft Auto VI will release for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19.
