GTA 6 pre-orders are now live, and when details about its pricing and edition exclusives were revealed on Wednesday, it's got everyone talking in the gaming world. With an ad claiming that PlayStation 6 GTA 6 “plays best on PS5”.
Quite the sting on Xbox, and there was a brief period late yesterday where it seemed like PlayStation might have overstepped the mark by claiming GTA 6 would play better on PS5 than Series X, if that could be true. The ads disappeared, prompting many, myself included, to contact Rockstar and ask them to tweak the promo image.
That may well have happened, but not because the studio is worried about upsetting anyone on Xbox. The ads are now back on the internet with some tweaks, but they still feature the bold claim that GTA 6 “plays best on PS5”. The image now features a bolder version of the GTA 6 logo, but more importantly, a different kind of PS5.
The original version of the ad included a standard PS5 which, while it will definitely run GTA 6, may have caused some confusion. The standard PS5 includes a disc drive, and even if you buy a physical copy of GTA 6, you won't need one, so the ad now features a digital-only version of the console.
That was one of the most controversial details in a day GTA revealed on Wednesday. Physical copies of the game will only have the code in a box, without any discs. There are a few reasons why Rockstar wanted to do that. The main reason is to try and avoid leaks before launch where possible.
Physical copies of new games need to be shipped to stores before launch. That means those discs are in factories, in warehouses, on delivery trucks, and then in stores. Whether it's someone getting lured along the production line, or even thieves stealing copies, if GTA 6 exists on disc, there's going to be an inherent risk that someone is playing it before Rockstar wants them to.
It's an unpopular decision, and has led to some retailers deciding not to sell pre-orders of the game, but restricting physical copies to codes in boxes means Rockstar can reduce the risk of leaks. As for great gaming on the PS5, it's not just a marketing gimmick. This seems true as GTA 6 on the PS5 has features that the Xbox can't accommodate, including DualSense's haptic feedback, and instant load times thanks to its SSD.
