GTA 6 Ultimate Edition Outselling Standard in Pre-Orders, Take-Two Says
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says the $100 Ultimate Edition of GTA 6 is attracting more pre-orders than the $80 standard version, and hints deep discounts are unlikely anytime soon.
The High-Roller Edition Is Winning Early
When Take-Two Interactive opened pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto 6 back in June, the company gave buyers a choice: the standard edition at $80, or the Ultimate Edition at $100. Most observers might have assumed fans would gravitate toward the cheaper option. They would be wrong.
In an interview with CNBC, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed that pre-orders are actually skewing toward the pricier Ultimate Edition. When the interviewer floated the idea that sales across both editions might be roughly equal, Zelnick pushed back. “Actually, it is skewing more to the premium edition,” he said, as reported by IGN. He was quick to add a caveat, though: “That might be a reflection of the fact that the most avid consumers are the ones who are pre-ordering now.”
That is a reasonable read. Early pre-orders for any massive release tend to attract the most dedicated fans, people who were never going to settle for a base tier. The broader picture of how casual buyers split between editions will likely come into clearer focus once the game ships on November 19th.
Do Not Count on a Holiday Deal
GTA 6 releases just before Black Friday and Christmas, which raised an obvious question: will retailers slash the price right out of the gate? Zelnick was careful not to make promises he cannot keep, acknowledging that individual storefronts control their own margins. But he pointed to a telling historical precedent.
“We preserved our pricing on Grand Theft Auto 5 for a very long time, much longer than a standard release of an entertainment property,” he said. GTA 5 launched in 2013 and remained a full-priced fixture at retail for years in a way few games manage. The implication is clear even if the guarantee is not: fans hoping to wait out a quick sale should probably reconsider their strategy.
Zelnick has also previously told IGN that he considers GTA 6’s pricing a “bargain” given Rockstar’s track record of overdelivering on content. Whether buyers agree with that framing is another matter, but the pre-order data suggests the hardest-core fans are not flinching.
The Disc Question and What Comes Next
Pricing is not the only controversy swirling around GTA 6. The game’s lack of a physical disc at launch has frustrated a portion of the fanbase, though Zelnick addressed that too, noting a true physical release after launch is not entirely off the table. He does not believe the disc situation will meaningfully hurt sales.
On the content front, Rockstar’s first extended look at GTA 6 is set to arrive later this month. It will debut on Netflix, with a broader rollout to YouTube and social media platforms following six hours later on August 27th. Some fans have bristled at the Netflix-first approach, but the wait is measured in hours rather than days. Zelnick has described the preview as something fans will want to see, while offering no details about what it actually contains.
The $80 standard price for GTA 6 is already $10 more than most new releases, a number that stirred real debate when it was announced. The fact that the even-pricier Ultimate Edition is currently outselling it does not settle that debate, but it does say something about how willing the franchise’s most devoted audience is to pay up front for what they expect will be one of the biggest releases in years.
How much does GTA 6 cost?
GTA 6 has a standard edition priced at $80 and an Ultimate Edition priced at $100. The Ultimate Edition includes exclusive digital content.
Will GTA 6 go on sale for Black Friday or the holidays?
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said he cannot guarantee pricing since individual retailers make their own decisions. He did note that GTA 5 held its price for much longer than a typical entertainment release, suggesting deep discounts on GTA 6 are unlikely in the near term.
When does GTA 6 release?
According to the source material, Grand Theft Auto 6 is scheduled to release on November 19, 2026.
Where can fans watch the GTA 6 extended look?
An extended look at GTA 6 will debut on Netflix later in August, followed by a release on YouTube and social media platforms six hours later on August 27th.