Pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI opened on June 25, 2026. After years of speculation about how Rockstar would tier this launch, the answer turned out simpler than most predictions: two editions, no Collector's Edition, and no disc.

The Standard Edition is $79.99. That is the whole game — the full Jason and Lucia campaign with nothing carved out of it. If you only care about the story, this is the version to buy and there is no asterisk attached.

The Ultimate Edition is $99.99. The extra twenty dollars buys exclusive vehicles, weapons and apparel, plus access to a pair of in-game businesses — Rideout Customs and Sara's Unisex Salon. Rockstar's own store description says these bonuses are threaded across the story "with new items uncovered behind each chapter", which is incidentally how we learned the game has chapters at all.

Whether that is worth it depends on something nobody can answer yet. None of the Ultimate content is story content. If it turns out to matter in whatever online mode eventually arrives, the maths changes — but Rockstar has not announced an online mode, so anyone telling you they know is guessing. For now it is a cosmetic package, and it is still topping pre-order charts in nine PlayStation Store regions.

The physical situation deserves its own paragraph. The boxed copy contains a download code, not a disc. On PS5 that code is region-locked and has to be redeemed on an account in a supported region; Xbox codes carry no such restriction. In Japan, retail codes expire 170 days after launch. Several retailers have simply declined to stock a box with no game in it.

Two dates for the calendar: preload opens November 12, and the game unlocks November 19.

Our advice has not changed much since we first wrote about this. There is no scarcity to race against — digital does not sell out, and waiting a week costs you nothing. Take the Standard unless you specifically want the cosmetics, and if you were planning to import a cheaper physical copy from another region, check your platform before you order.