Rockstar Games provided some new details today on GTA 6 ahead of the grand opening of the pre-orders tomorrow, June 25. Besides confirming the bonuses that PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S users will get to enjoy by purchasing the Ultimate Edition, the development studio confirmed that retail copies will not include any disc, but only a download code.
"The physical version of Grand Theft Auto VI, containing a download code inside the box, will be available starting November 12 to support pre-loading," Rockstar Games wrote on its official website. While releasing retail copies earlier to allow pre-loading ahead of the official November 19, 2026 release date is a nice gesture (and a much better solution than not launching retail copies at all), the lack of a real physical edition is going to upset more than a few players, although something of the sort was expected, considering how the studio will obviously try to keep leaks and spoilers to a minimum ahead of release.
Still, this feels like a significant pivot, especially given that Red Dead Redemption 2's physical copies included two discs. As some other recent games launched with physical discs that would only unlock on release date, such as the Gothic 1 Remake, Rockstar could still have offered actual discs. As such, there's a good chance this decision was made to shut down the used-game market as well.
Interestingly enough, today's announcement may also have confirmed the long-standing rumor in the community that GTA 6 would launch separately from the new GTA Online experience, as Rockstar Games wrote that the game is "a single player experience" on its official website.
With pre-orders finally opening up this week, there's a very good chance a new GTA 6 trailer will be shared soon as well. Hopefully, it will finally show whether the many patents filed to date, including one for procedurally breakable glass, will come to fruition and deliver the most advanced entry in the series yet.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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