Rockstar Games has finally confirmed the asking price of its highly anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto VI aka GTA 6. The game is going to cost $79.99 in the US for the standard edition, and if you’re willing to plonk extra cash on the Ultimate Edition, you will have to part ways with $99.99 per copy. Pre-orders for the game are starting today, June 26th, at midnight, and you will be able to reserve a copy for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X.
The asking price is definitely on the higher side. However, it’s still below the $100+ speculations that were floating just a few weeks ago. By PC and console gaming standards, $80 as a starting price is still quite a high fee. So far, only Nintendo has been able to sell games with a similar price tag and has courted plenty of backlash for it, as well.
What’s inside the package?
“Pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI begin at midnight local time on June 25, including the Grand Theft Auto VI: Ultimate Edition, which amplifies the deepest and most immersive GTA experience yet with an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story,” the studio said in its announcement.
The studio notes that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be a single-player experience when it lands on Sony and Xbox consoles on November 19. For folks who pre-order the game, they will also get a Vintage Vice City. If you place an order for a digital version of the game before November 19, you will be able to pre-load the game on November 12. Pre-orders of the game will also be rewarded with a month of free GTA+ subscription.
If you plunk cash on the ultimate edition of the game, you get plenty of extra goodies, such as exclusive sports cars with retro-futuristic design, weapons with special engravings and high-performance scope, personalized variants of these arms, Vice City-inspired styling for outfits and tattoos, a dedicated safe house vehicle, exclusive mods, salon perks for makeup and styling, custom streetwear apparel, and a special garage, to name a few.
The no-disc caveat
The physical version of the game, on the other hand, will be available starting November 12, and it will come with a download code inside the box. The decision to ship the physical edition of the game without a proper disc has already stirred plenty of controversy on social media platforms. Many enthusiastic fans are questioning the rationale behind the decision, arguing that for a studio with plenty of cash in its coffers, why is the company not offering physical disc copies of the game.
A few souls on social media are arguing that by skipping a physical disc, Rockstar Games is minimizing the chances of leaks and also putting a lid on reselling. On the other hand, having a physical copy of a game at hand has plenty of collector value, especially for a game with such a huge cultural impact.