GTA 6 disc version not coming after all, sources say Rockstar Support email was misinterpreted

Rockstar Games has no plans to print or release physical disc copies of GTA 6, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

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Yesterday, we reported on rumors that GTA 6 could have a disc version ready by Christmas. It was believed that Rockstar would have a physical version of GTA 6 complete on disc to sell in December, a month after the game's initial digital-only launch in November. This apparently is not the case.

New reports from The Hollywood Reporter say that Rockstar will not release a physical disc version of GTA 6 this year, and that the publisher currently does not have any strategies that include producing and selling physical disc copies.

Sources went further to say that the Rockstar support email has been misinterpreted, and the "physical copy" mentioned by support was referring to the existing GTA 6 code-in-a-box version that has already been announced.

The news will come as a shock to physical media aficionados everywhere, and even gamers who have a history with Rockstar's titles. Yet even here the writing was on the wall. All of Rockstar's previous GTA games from GTA III onward came with a map, but when GTA V was re-released in 2022, Rockstar stopped including maps in the box. This apparently was the beginning of the end for this extra spending when, multiplied by millions of copies, added up to a hefty sum.

Rockstar's decision to eliminate physical disc versions actually solves three problems at once:

1. Reduces costs
2. Eliminates all possibility of resales on second-hand market
3. Eliminates possibility of leaks with a simultaneous digital-only launch

As a result of GTA 6's business model, which includes digital-only and $80 and $100 versions, Take-Two Interactive expects to deliver a record-breaking $8.1 billion earnings this fiscal year.