Pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto 6 went live on Thursday, but gamers who opted for the physical edition discovered a shock inside the box: no disc, just a code for a digital download. Developer Rockstar had confirmed the move, sparking confusion and anger among fans who had hoped for a traditional disc.
“My initial reaction was one of confusion and shock,” said Ben, a 24-year-old UK gamer who covers GTA news on social media under the handle 'videotech'. Until February, it had been assumed a disc would be included. Strauss Zelnick, chief executive of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two, told Variety that a digital-only launch was “not the plan”.
“GTA 6's physical edition contains only a download code, sparking debate over the future of discs in gaming.”
That assurance gave fans hope. “An important benefit of owning a disc is that you can lend the game to a friend or sell it later,” Ben said. But online retailers now state that the code inside the GTA 6 box is single-use and invalid after redemption – exactly like any other digital download.
The standard edition costs £70, the premium edition £90. For many gamers, the loss of a physical disc is symbolic of a broader shift. Digital sales account for the vast majority of game revenue, and consoles without disc drives are becoming the norm. Mat Piscatella, senior director at market research firm Circana, noted that “more than half of all Xbox Series consoles in the US don’t have a physical drive, while over a quarter of PS5's are the same.”
Some players have already embraced the change. “I'm pretty much all digital these days, I download most of my games directly onto my console,” said Alogirlx, a gaming content creator from Canada. “Whether there's a physical disc or not it doesn't really change anything for me.”
But for others, the disc was more than a sentimental relic – it was a guarantee of ownership and the ability to resell. With one of the biggest franchises in entertainment history abandoning the disc, the question lingers: is the physical game now truly dead?