The hugely anticipated video game Grand Theft Auto VI will launch on November 19 at $130, with an optional Ultimate Edition at $160, but will not be available on physical discs. The package sold in retail stores will be empty, save for a printed code you enter into your console to download the game.
The new details were revealed overnight by developer and publisher Rockstar Games, as the game became available to pre-order. Those who buy the game at or before launch will get access to extra digital items in the game. On November 12, players will be able to begin downloading the game, ensuring it is ready to play on its release on November 19 (Australian time). This also means physical packages will hit store shelves a week before the game can be played. Rockstar has not confirmed the size of the download.
Set in a fictionalised version of Florida, Grand Theft Auto VI is an open-world crime game that is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch in history. Some analysts have predicted 45 million copies could be sold in the first week, though thatβs at the high end of the predictions. Itβs been speculated that the game has cost around $US2 billion ($2.9 billion) to develop. It is yet to be classified, but is likely to be rated R, restricting its sale to Australians 18 and over.
The $130 price is only slightly higher than other current blockbuster games, but Rockstar is aggressively pushing the Ultimate Edition by locking certain in-game cars, weapons, cosmetic items and shops behind the higher-priced version, which is highly unusual for a single-player game. But the lack of a physical disc is likely to prove more controversial.
βRockstar is taking away part of what made buying a new GTA game special for longtime fans,β said one commenter on Reddit.
βIt feels less about the players and more about maximising profits.β
Most games sold on disc over the past 20 years have required installation to a hard drive, and many major games have also required initial downloading of data, since not all of the game is included on the disc. By not including a disc at all, Rockstar saves a lot of money on manufacturing but also ensures every player has to buy a brand-new copy. You will never get a used copy of the game, nor will you be able to sell yours once youβre done playing it, because the license is tied to your account rather than a plastic disc, and is non-transferable.
βI wonβt be buying it, I avoid digital only. Buying used and selling on is how gaming is affordable to me,β said another commenter.
Rockstar, originally a Scottish development studio and now a subsidiary of entertainment giant Take Two, is famous for its America-satirising crime series Grand Theft Auto as well as its sprawling Old West series Red Dead Redemption. But much is still unknown about its latest game. It will be partially set in Vice City, an area that has been seen in previous games, and will follow small-time criminal couple Lucia and Jason as they unravel a state-wide conspiracy.
Grand Theft Auto V was a gargantuan hit at launch in 2013 and sold a consistently high volume of copies for more than 10 years as it was re-released across three generations of consoles. It is the biggest entertainment product in history by practically any metric, and certainly the most lucrative. The game made $US1 billion in just three days, faster than Avengers: Endgame (which took five days to hit $US1 billion). It has sold 230 million copies to date, more than any single novel. And it has made a total of more than $US10 billion in revenue, dwarfing the highest-grossing film (Avatar) at $US2.92 billion.
A key to its ongoing success has been the GTA Online mode, which has been estimated to pull in more than $10 million per month in currency purchases. Rockstar has not announced plans to transition GTA Online to Grand Theft Auto VI, but has said the new game will be a single-player experience only at launch.
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Tim Biggs is a writer covering consumer technology, gadgets and video games.Connect via X or email.