Not to be cynical—I'm excited for the game, too—but Rockstar could segment GTA 6 into individual chapters at $30 a pop, and I'm sure it would still be the biggest launch in the industry's history. So, I'm not too surprised that a $20 price hike to unlock in-game stores and a code-in-a-box physical edition aren't denting the game's momentum, but it's bewildering that so many people are willing to look past these murky practices.

IGN surveyed over 3,000 gamers with a simple question: are you going to buy the $100 version? The answer was a resounding yes, with 70.7 percent of respondents planning to fork over the premium. It’s a staggering figure when you look at what the Ultimate Edition actually paywalls—locking single-player storefronts, vehicle mod shops, and side activities behind an extra $20 bill when the base edition already costs more than the industry standard.

Of course, this survey isn't representative of the hundreds of millions who will no doubt buy GTA 6, but it does offer an insight into what people are thinking. A divide as steep as 71:29 shows that the vast amount of exclusive content on offer in the Ultimate Edition has won players over, regardless of the backlash. It’s the exact same story with the physical release; despite widespread outrage over the "code-in-a-box" strategy, they sold out on Amazon almost immediately.

GTA 6 Is Setting A Worrying Precedent

GTA 6 is already having a profound impact on the industry. Developers have avoided stamping their games with a release date for years in case they accidentally end up in its blast zone, and have steered clear of the November 19 date now that it's locked in, causing a massive September pile-up.

With that kind of leverage, there's every reason to be worried about the precedent Take-Two is setting. Pushing the baseline price to $80 is bold enough, let alone a code-in-a-box strategy—presumably to stop people breaking the street date—or the de facto $100 price tag. Rockstar might bill the UIltimate Edition as a premium upgrade, but let's be honest, it's the content-complete version of the game.

Whether other developers follow suit remains to be seen, but if IGN's survey is anything to go by, while these practices may be controversial, people will still line up to pay. And if you think it's farfetched to imagine content-complete versions of games being sold at higher prices to mask an industry-wide increase, just look at how much backlash Bethesda got for horse armor, an incredibly tame microtransaction by today's standards. People forget, and what was once unthinkable quickly becomes the norm.

Grand Theft Auto 6 Like Follow Followed Action Adventure Systems OpenCritic Reviews Released November 19, 2026 ESRB Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+ Developer(s) Rockstar Games Publisher(s) Rockstar Games 8 Images Close
Where to play Close

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Engine Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) Genre(s) Action, Adventure Powered by Expand Collapse