It’s not every day that a company shadow drops details for the biggest game of the year one day before pre-orders go live, that too to tell everyone that actually, pre-orders would be live at midnight local time. But this is Rockstar Games, and this is Grand Theft Auto 6, where the norm seems to be dropping new details when we least expect them, immediately dominating the news cycle with every tiny reveal.
Pricing, pre-load date, an Ultimate Edition with exclusive single-player content, new and returning vehicles, hints of different activities – the list goes on, and you can likely find even more because of the 60+ screenshots released. Rockstar doesn’t consistently provide updates, but when it has something to announce, it brings its A game.
Aside from the Ultimate Edition’s exclusive benefits, there’s one other key detail that’s elicited some mixed reactions, and not just from fans. It’s the announcement that the physical version of the game will not have a disc. Instead, it will feature a download code in the box, and the memes have already started flowing in. Someone posting that they have the physical edition of Grand Theft Auto 6 right now and showing an empty box with no disc…That’s about the extent of it. Not much to be done when there’s really nothing to work with.
Of course, as some will no doubt point out, this is far from a new development. Remember the controversy surrounding Starfield back in 2023 when it lacked a disc for the physical version on PC but included it for Xbox? That was only the Standard Edition, though – if you bought the Constellation Edition, regardless of platform, you only get a digital download code. Even for games that ship with physical discs, like Crimson Desert, you still need to download a massive patch to play it. And let’s not even get into the whole thing about Game-Key Cards on the Switch 2.
There’s also the fact that digital sales have only been increasing year in and year out. In its last fiscal quarter report ending March 31st, 2026, PlayStation revealed that 85 percent of its total software sales came from full game digital downloads, up by five percent year-over-year. The house of Resident Evil, Pragmata and the upcoming Onimusha: Way of the Sword is even higher, with 93 percent of total sales being digital.
So why is this such a big deal? Well, for the one obvious fact – this is Grand Theft Auto 6. Even if physical game sales on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 have been underwhelming for a while, there’s the hope that a major release like this could offer a pivotal boost.
Which is funny because you have to consider the consoles without disc drives, especially in this economy, where not everyone wants to splurge extra on a separate Blu-ray disc drive for their PS5 Pro or those opting for the PS5 Digital Edition because it’s cheaper. Given the price bumps that both consoles – the Xbox Series X/S – have seen in recent years, there’s even more incentive to go disc-less.
But that hasn’t stopped two retailers – VGP and Loot Box Gaming in the US – from dropping the release. They both have a valid stance as well. VGP is “committed to supporting physical media and preserving the value of physical game ownership.” Loot Box echoed this sentiment, while adding, “If a product can’t honor the people who pay their hard-earned money to purchase it, then we have no business trying to sell it to our customers, whom we value above anything else.”
And there’s no denying either of them because at the end of the day, Grand Theft Auto 6 costs $80 for the Standard Edition ($100 if you’re picking up the Collector’s Edition). Call it an old-school mentality, but there’s still an expectation that, at the very least, a physical version should include a disc. And besides, this is Grand Theft Auto, which will make back its budget several times over in the next decade. Does Take-Two not have enough money to justify a proper physical release?
That said, there are significant reasons for these steps, which could include eliminating any resells. Much like the physical games market, the margin for reselling games isn’t extinct, but it’s not exactly bustling either. Grand Theft Auto 6 is a massive release and has likely already notched up millions, if not tens of millions, in pre-orders already. However, Take-Two is also looking at the long game, and that doesn’t just mean controlling the price – it means removing any option for a future customer to buy it for cheap and cutting out the middleman entirely. Say what you want about how awful it is and how game ownership has gone to the gutter, but in terms of business sense, it’s expected from one of the biggest franchises in the world.
If that wasn’t enough, this approach helps to battle leaks and potential spoilers from getting out in the wild on the first day of launch. We could sit here and discuss why that shouldn’t matter, but with how heavily it’s being marketed as a single-player experience, to the point where the belief is that the next iteration of GTA Online will require a separate purchase, it’s clear that spoilers are important for Rockstar. Not like the full story walkthrough won’t be available online within a week or so anyway, but at least it can stop any retailers from potentially breaking street date.
Do I believe that Take-Two could do away with physical releases entirely down the line? It’s certainly possible because, like many other publishers, much of its revenue is digital. And yet, I wouldn’t put it past them to debut a Collector’s Edition or a limited physical edition with a disc down the line, just for the sake of getting even more money. Hobbyists will probably be satisfied because they can add it to their collection, even if it requires a major download to actually play. The hardcore fan will have some goodies to carry the value beyond the disc, and if copies are limited, the publisher won’t need to worry about long-term profit implications.
So to recap, in a nutshell: It’s not personal. It’s just business. Would that we could return to the days when a game, triple-A or otherwise, was available on a disc, and you were free to do with it what you’d like. But as much as the decision feels like “typical bad corporation doing bad corporation things,” Grand Theft Auto 6 is far from the first title to opt for this approach. If anything, it’s a sign of the times, and highlighting the absolute state of physical versions and the resale market. Excluding itself from either won’t necessarily deal a death blow to either.
Because it’s GTA, it will sell boatloads and then some, and that was always going to be the case, regardless of what pricing was announced (which is hardly a controversial stance). Maybe Take-Two will find a way to make amends with retailers somewhere down the line. Maybe it’s just the latest to move on entirely. Either way, the Grand Theft Auto 6 hype is only just picking up steam, and it’s all the industry can do to follow the damn train.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
