The countdown is officially on for GTA fans – Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders are about to go live. The most anticipated video game of the decade will launch later this year after months of delays.
Available for Xbox Series X/S and PS5, GTA 6 will arrive on consoles on November 19. For those gamers who can’t wait until then to secure their copy, pre-orders go live tonight at midnight local time (Thursday, June 25).
The timing means that some regions will be able to pre-order before others, including UK gamers getting a march on American fans. Ahead of the pre-orders going live, developer Rockstar Games has revealed what the Ultimate Edition of GTA 6 means for those keen to spend a little more on this blockbuster game.
Follow our live blog below for the latest updates throughout the day.
New UpdatesView PostView PostToday00:10 BST
Very looks like it’s the first of the UK retailers to make a move on listing a physical copy of GTA 6, although it doesn’t look like gamers can actually put any money down just yet. The listing appears when searching for the game on its site, but clicking on the link redirects you to a default splash page.
Still, it’s a sign that things are at least happening behind the scenes, and it shouldn’t be long before we start to see other retailers follow suit.
There’s still no movement on the PlayStation Store – very odd given Sony appears to be putting it front and centre on its own storefront!
Joshua BoylesToday00:06 BST
Xbox makes the first move as GTA 6 is officially available to pre-order digitally on the Xbox Store.
This also confirms the UK pricing of GTA 6 with Xbox listing the Standard Edition as £69.99 and the Ultimate Edition as £89.99.
The PlayStation Store is still yet to update, as are all of the other online retailers I’m watching.
Joshua BoylesToday00:03 BST
GTA 6 pre-orders were meant to go live at midnight tonight here in the UK, but both the PlayStation and Xbox storefront’s continue to only display the game as available to wishlist, not pre-order.
The same goes for all the online retailers I’m keeping my eye on. I’ll update as soon as there’s any change.
Joshua Boyles24th Jun23:46 BST
Rockstar Games has confirmed that gamers who pre-order a physical edition of GTA 6 will receive their copy a week early. However, this won’t grant them the week of early access to the game that players might be hoping for.
This is because the physical edition of GTA 6 won’t include a disc, and will instead hold a redeemable code for the digital version of the game. Rockstar is claiming that by sending out physical codes a week ahead of launch, players will have time to preload the game ahead of its November 19 release date.
It remains to be seen whether UK retailers will honour that comittment to sending out physical copies a week in advance. We’ll no doubt find out when pre-orders for GTA 6 finally go live in 15 minutes time…
Joshua Boyles24th Jun23:33 BST
Sony has updated the PlayStation Store on the PS5 to show off GTA 6 front and centre for those who boot up their console.
As shown off in several videos on X, hovering over the PlayStation Store icon now brings up a custom splash screen for GTA 6, showing off each of the editions available to pre-order. There’s even an option to watch all of the trailers for the game so far right from the main screen.
Clearly, Sony is just as keen for players to pre-order GTA 6 as Rockstar is, and it’s pulling no punches when it comes to putting that pre-order button in front of players.
Joshua Boyles24th Jun23:11 BST
Pre-orders for GTA 6 are set to go live at midnight here in the UK, meaning we’re in the final hour until gamers are finally able to lay down their cold, hard cash for the most anticiapted game of the year.
UK pricing is yet to be confirmed, but we’re estimating it to sit around the £69.99 mark for the Standard Edition and £89.99 for the Ultimate Edition.
EU pricing for the game has just gone live with Rockstar confirming that our friends across the channel are expected to pay €79.99 and €99.99 for the two editions.
Joshua Boyles24th Jun22:29 BST
In-game items from the GTA 6 Ultimate Edition and the Vintage Vice City Pack pre-order bonuses will not be entirely available for use right at the start of the game.
Instead, these items will be integrated into the game’s narrative and unlock gradually as you play.
Liam Martin24th Jun22:01 BST
There are a few select special missions for players who have purchase the Ultimate Edition. The Classic Car Collection content comes via a special commission from a local fixer named Wyman.
He’ll task you with tracking down and restoring various abandoned classic cars and project vehicles – including four that are only available in the Ultimate Edition.
Players will also be able to raid the PITYoungin$ Illegal Goods Store in Southside Vice City. Escape safely to earn special rewards and distinct contraband.
Liam Martin24th Jun21:08 BST
If you purchase the standard edition of GTA 6 and then find yourself with a few extra quid, don’t panic – you won’t end up having to pay £180 (or whatever the cost ends up being in the UK).
Rockstar has confirmed that an upgrade for Standard Edition purchases to the Ultimate Edition can be made at any time.
Liam Martin24th Jun20:35 BST
As well as all the extra content you get if you pre-order the Ultimate Edition, there’s another added bonus for anyone buying either version of GTA 6 ahead of November 20. Rockstar are throwing in a free month of GTA plus, the monthly subscription service.
Subscribers get a monthly deposit of GTA$500,000 in GTA Online, as well as access to special Shark Cards with 15% bonus GTA$. There’s also access to free and discounted GTA Online vehicles, a rotating variety of classic Rockstar Games titles and other featured games in the GTA+ Games Library.
However, it’ll only be available to those who buy the digital version of GTA 6. A Rockstar spokesperson explained: “A free month of GTA+ is available to redeem immediately upon pre-order and must be redeemed before the expiry date.
“After the free month, memberships auto-renew monthly at the regular monthly price until canceled.” So if you do redeem this little extra, don’t forget to cancel it before it renews automatically or continue paying monthly.
Liam Martin24th Jun19:44 BSTLiam Ryder24th Jun19:07 BST
Many fans were expecting the third trailer for GTA 6 to arrive at some point over the next 24 hours. It would make a great deal of sense for Rockstar to release it at the same time as pre-orders went live.
But as the global pre-order time is staggered with its midnight local time, that strategy is clearly muddied. It’s hard to predict exactly when we’ll get Trailer 3, but there’s every chance it could be overnight.
It could also be once pre-orders have gone live on the West Coast of the USA, which is the last major retail region to hit midnight. If that’s the case, the Trailer would drop at 9am BST tomorrow (Thursday, June 25).
Rockstar also have a habit of making big announcements at 3pm, and with today’s afternoon nearly over, that would also have to be in roughly 18 hours time.
Liam Martin24th Jun18:34 BST
Pre-orders of GTA 6 are live in Australia now, the second major country to get access to pre-orders today following New Zealand. In New Zealand, the price in NZ Dollars was revealed to be $139.95 for the standard edition or $175.95 for the Ultimate Edition. That’s an equivalent in Great British Pounds of exactly £60 and £75.44 respectively.
However, once converted into US Dollars, the prices makes a lot more sense. The equivalent is $79.02 and $99.35 – much closer to the announced price points revealed by Rockstar today.
In Australia, The cost is $129.95 and $159.95 respectively – which translates to a seemingly more expensive tag for our friends Down Under when it comes to the Ultimate Edition. In USD, it’s a whopping $110.38.
But when you remember that the majority of prices in the US are advertised as pre-tax costs, it makes a little bit more sense after all. If this trend continues, however, the GBP equivalent of the original prices would be £60.75 and £75.93 – which, let’s face it, would be much lower than we expected.
Liam Martin24th Jun17:52 BST
We’re yet to know the true size of GTA 6’s download file, but one rumour doing the rounds is that it could be over 600GB.
While GTA 6 has been in development for a while, it’s highly unlikely to be quite as big as that. The rumour stems from a fake screenshot of the Xbox store, which states ‘download to your home Xbox One’ – and seeing as GTA 6 isn’t launching on Xbox One, it’s safe to say this is nonsense.
A more likely estimate would be somewhere between 150GB-200GB, given that Red Dead Redemption 2 came in at around 130GB. Whatever the reality ends up being, make sure you’ve cleared that storage backlog before November 12, when pre-loading is available.
Liam Martin24th Jun17:02 BST
Take a peek at some of the new images shared by Rockstar today:
Liam Ryder24th Jun16:47 BST
Included in the Ultimate Edition content, this buggy is described as having “impressive off-road handling” and includes a weapon locker and a “secure place to deposit stolen goods to be fenced”
Liam Ryder24th Jun16:17 BST
One of the major points that came out about GTA 6 today is that certain locations will only be unlocked for those who bought the Ultimate Edition.
The following places won’t be accessible to those playing the Standard Edition, though there will surely be similar locations dotted around the Vice City and Leonida maps:
- Rideout Customs
- One-Eyed Willie’s
- Sara’s Unisex Salon
- Stock 305 Clothing Store
- Electric Fang Tattoo
- PTT Youngin$ Illegal Goods Store
Liam Ryder24th Jun16:00 BST
If just seeing these screenshots this doesn’t get you a little hyped up for GTA 6, I’m not sure much will…
Liam Ryder24th Jun15:43 BST
There are tonnes of bonuses available with the Ultimate Edition. Here’s everything you get for the $100 tag:
Liam Ryder24th Jun14:49 BST
GTA fans in New Zealand have now been able to get their copy of GTA 6 reserved for about 45 minutes – and there’s a startling revelation about the prices.
In New Zealand dollars, the standard edition of GTA 6 is listed on the PS Store at $139.95. The Ultimate Edition, meanwhile, costs $175.95.
Now in terms of the exchange rate, that means exactly £60 or £75.44 here in the UK. It would certainly be a huge turn up for the books if those prices came to be once the clock hits midnight here.
In about 10 minutes, pre-orders will go live in Australia. We’ll see how those Down Under fare when the moment arrives.
GTA 6 pre-orders are slowly going live across the world – starting with New Zealand(Image: Rockstar Games)
Rockstar has made a rather pointed admission in their announcement today, saying: “Grand Theft Auto VI features a single-player experience set in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the series yet.”
Mulitplayer features are glaring by omission there, and who knows what that could mean for GTA Online – although it’s been it’s own separate beast from GTA V for some time.
So the answer to crossplay? Given that GTA 6 looks to be a single player game, that’d be a no. But don’t rule out it coming to GTA Online if that’s how Rockstar choose to play things.
Liam Ryder24th Jun13:50 BST
As confirmed by Rockstar today, the ‘physical edition’ of GTA 6 won’t actually have a disc inside the box.
Instead, gamers will be given a digital download code which, as mentioned, allows for pre-loading ahead of the November 19 launch date.
So what do you get for the physical edition? Well, apparently, just a box. Which is at least something for hardcore collectors, but there are some very unhappy fans following the news.
One Redditor posted: “We’ve officially passed the Rubicon for physical game media. Expect no more physical games from here on out.”
Another said: “No disc, no buy” while a third posted: “I feel like we’re seeing the end of second hand games”.
Liam Ryder24th Jun13:31 BST
At the moment, it’s unclear what the $80 and $100 price points mean for UK gamers. Rockstar has only announced US prices so far.
If that translates exactly to our currency, it would mean pricing GTA 6 at £60.77 for the standard edition and £75.96 for the Ultimate Edition.
It’s safe to say that seems unlikely, and the exact figures of £79.99 and £99.99 are probably what to expect when you go to pre-order on your respective console.
Jason and Lucia sporting the Goodtime Gear from the GTA 6 Ultimate Edition in a new GTA 6 screenshot(Image: Rockstar Games)
Rockstar Games has confirmed exactly how much gamers can expect to shell out on GTA 6 tonight – or indeed, between now and launch day.
Rockstar says that the Standard Edition will cost $79.99, while the Ultimate Edition will be priced at $99.99.
Leaks that suggested up to five different editions have seemingly been proven wrong.
Liam Ryder24th Jun13:04 BST
Not only do pre-order customers receive lots of bonus items like outfits, vehicles and weapons, but purchasing the game ahead of launch means you’ll be able to download GTA 6 early.
As we’ve already mentioned, pre-loading goes live on November 12, giving early adopters an entire week to download the game ready for launch.
With the file size likely to be in the tripe digits, having that extra time means even gamers with the slowest internet speeds can play right away.
Liam Martin24th Jun12:40 BST
Those who do choose to get a physical copy of GTA 6 will be surprised when they open the box
That’s because it’ll contain a digital download code rather than a game disc. The code can be redeemed via the store or account settings on players’ consoles.
Liam Ryder24th Jun12:40 BST
Rockstar Games has confirmed that players who pre-order GTA 6 will be able to pre-load the game.
Regardless of whether players have bought the physical or digital version of the game, they’ll be given a special code to ensure GTA 6 is ready to go on November 19. This code will allow players to begin downloading GTA 6 a week early, from November 12.
Liam Ryder24th Jun12:40 BST
Good afternoon, gamers – and welcome to our live blog on a huge day for GTA fans.
GTA 6 pre-orders FINALLY go live this evening, at midnight local time – and we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know.