As was heavily rumored over the last few weeks, Rockstar Games has announced that pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI will be going live on June 25th, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Much was written about what the price would be, and seemingly the naysayers were correct: GTA VI will cost $79.99 for its standard edition and $99.99 for the “Ultimate Edition.”
You might be asking why the headline implies the “era of $100 games,” but there is a good reason for that. The Ultimate Edition isn’t just some bonus cosmetics to adorn the main characters in, but actual in-game content ranging from guns, vehicles, and weapons, to storefronts, and even missions. Essentially, the $80 version is a front to soften the blow that GTA VI is truly $100.
Set to release on November 19th, 2026, all pre-orders and purchases made before November 20th will receive the “Vintage Vice City Pack” with some bonus clothes (which is different from the Ultimate Edition content), and one month of Rockstar’s GTA+ service. If you’re unfamiliar with GTA+, it’s basically a Rockstar Games focused subscription service that gives you access to a back catalog of games and a bunch of in-game bonuses for GTA Online, of which Grand Theft Auto VI is likely to include even more stuff for players to mess around with.
Physical editions will be available at retailers, but there is one caveat attached: it’s actually just a code in a box. Set to hit store shelves on November 12th, 2026, this code in a box is likely a way for Rockstar to prevent leaks from happening before launch. It’s maybe understandable from that viewpoint, but the company is not producing any disc based version for the remainder of 2026. If that happens, it will be in 2027 at some point, which sucks.
Will Grand Theft Auto VI release on Switch 2?
Why even report on all of this at a Nintendo website? Well, we still believe GTA VI will eventually hit the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s also a sign of how Nintendo shifted the retail environment with Mario Kart World last year. As the first $80 game I can recall (barring collector’s editions), it seems publishers are now more than willing to charge exorbitant prices for new releases. The floodgates were pushed to their limit last year and now everything is flowing without restraint. Thanks, Nintendo.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
