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Pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI will open at midnight on Thursday in each time zone, setting up the first major test for what analysts expect to become the biggest entertainment launch of 2026.
The long-awaited game is scheduled to come out on Nov. 19, ending a 13-year gap since the previous main title in Rockstar Games' blockbuster crime series. Fans will be able to reserve digital and physical copies online and in stores before the game rolls out on consoles later this year.
Rockstar also confirmed that GTA VI will be priced above the usual level for major high-end games. The standard edition will sell for $79.99 in the United States, while an "Ultimate" edition with bonus content such as weapons and vehicles will be offered for $99.99.
The scale of anticipation has built up around Rockstar's unusually quiet approach to promotion, with fans closely following every trailer, screenshot, statement and alleged leak linked to the game.
Red Young, a 26-year-old from Scotland who has waited for GTA VI for half his life, said finally being close to playing it "doesn't exactly feel like a real thing that would ever happen." He added: "Knowing that we've got here... and I'm actually going to be able to play it, is borderline a miracle."
The release date moved several times, shifting from autumn 2025 to May 2026 and then to November 2026. Competing publishers have already cleared out space around the launch window, reflecting the expected pull of the game.
Piers Harding-Rolls of the U.K.-based data firm Ampere Analysis said the full launch, including pre-orders, could become the biggest entertainment launch ever, ahead of any movie, TV series, concert or album.
Analysts at Piper Sandler expect around 45 million copies to be sold before the game is released. That would put GTA VI in position to challenge the record set by GTA V, which reached $1 billion in sales in just three days.
GTA V has sold almost 230 million copies, making it the second best-selling video game of all time after Minecraft. Its long-running multiplayer mode, GTA Online, has kept millions of players engaged, but demand for a full new installment has continued to grow.
GTA VI will take players back to a fictional world inspired by Miami and Florida, a setting previously used in 2002's Vice City. The new story centers on Jason and Lucia, two protagonists who appear loosely inspired by the American outlaw couple Bonnie and Clyde.
Like earlier GTA games, the new title is built around an open world, a large digital environment where players can follow missions, explore cities and use vehicles freely. Story missions often involve crimes such as burglary, murder and drug trafficking.
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