Pre-orders for the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI go live tomorrow, but fans have discovered that the game will not be receiving an actual physical release. Rockstar games announced that the upcoming game will be receiving an $80 standard edition and a $100 Ultimate Edition. Both editions will be digital only.
You’ll be able to walk into a physical store like GameStop or Target and buy the game, where you’ll be given a physical case. But there won’t be a disc inside at all, just a code to download the game to your console. This is no different than just buying the game directly from a console shop to download, just with an extra step.
Fans are upset for three reasons. The first is that having a digital only release means that gamers could lose access to the game for whatever reason. Servers could go dark, or maybe you won’t have access to an online service to re-download the game. Digital titles also don’t get the freedom to be traded and sold to other people. Once you redeem it, it’s yours forever. Lastly, physical collectors will be heartbroken by not being able to add an actual disc to their collection.