Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders open, but don’t expect a physical copy

Pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI opened at midnight, with publisher Rockstar Games confirming a 19 November release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S and setting the standard edition price at $80 in the US, £70 in the UK, and €80 in Europe [1]. The title returns players to the fictional state of Leonida, a setting based on Florida that features a new version of Vice City, the Miami-inspired locale first introduced in the 2002 title Grand Theft Auto: Vice City [1][2]. The story follows the criminal duo Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos in what Rockstar has billed as a romantic crime drama [1][2]. Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive established in December 1998, has overseen the Grand Theft Auto franchise since acquiring it from BMG Interactive, which published the original 1997 entry [6]. Take-Two, a holding company founded in 1993, also owns the 2K and Zynga publishing labels and as of April 2025 carried an estimated market capitalization of US$41 billion [5]. At launch, the game will not include a physical disc; retail boxes will contain a download code [1]. The news site VGC suggested the move could allow Take-Two to maximize revenue on development costs that some estimates place as high as $1.5 billion [1]. An Ultimate Edition, priced at £90 in the UK, €100 in Europe, and $100 in the US, will include exclusive in-game cars, clothes, and weapons, as well as access to stores closed to standard-edition owners [1]. Pre-order customers will receive a Vintage Vice City pack of 1980s apparel and nostalgic items [1]. Rockstar has confirmed that a modern update of GTA Online, the multiplayer mode that launched a month after Grand Theft Auto V in October 2013, will not be available at release; the game will debut as a single-player experience [1]. Grand Theft Auto V has sold over 220 million copies since its September 2013 launch, making it the second-best-selling video game of all time [6]. Analysts are forecasting sales of 40 million units for the new title in its first year, compared with 32.5 million for its predecessor [1]. Industry analyst Tom Henderson predicted that pre-orders alone could generate $1 billion within an hour [1]. The path to release has been marked by multiple delays and a major leak of unfinished footage in September 2022, which journalists described as one of the largest breaches in video game history [1][2]. Rockstar formally revealed the game in December 2023, and after two postponements it is now scheduled for 19 November 2026 [2]. The developer is also facing legal action from 30 former employees who allege they were fired for attempting to unionize [1].