GTA 6’s disc-less release—with just a code in a box—has caught even Sony by surprise: they’ve had to change a PS5 ad

Even though its release is still several months away, Grand Theft Auto VI continues to be the talk of the town. After pre-orders opened, many were deeply disappointed when Rockstar confirmed that the “physical” edition of the game would actually contain very little—just a code in a box and no disc. However, this highly controversial decision has taken even Sony by surprise, forcing them to modify a PlayStation 5 ad for the game to reflect this new and unusual situation.

GTA VI will not include a disc in its “physical” edition, which has forced Sony to release a PS5 ad for the game

On June 24, Rockstar Games caused a huge stir in the gaming community regarding Grand Theft Auto VI, as—in addition to opening pre-orders for the game—numerous previously unrevealed details about its release were shared. The focus of the conversation, however, wasn’t the much-anticipated game itself, but rather two highly controversial points: its price—$80 for the standard edition and $100 for the Ultimate edition—and the fact that there is no physical version as such, since it will only be released in CIAB format (code in a box).

This revelation has been so surprising that Sony has been forced to edit an ad for the game visible on the PlayStation 5 console interface. Some social media users were able to take screenshots of the before and after: prior to the revelation that GTA 6 would only be distributed digitally and via a code in a box, the game’s marketing showed a PlayStation 5 console with a disc drive alongside its controller. However, now that it’s known there will be no physical disc for Grand Theft Auto VI, this ad has been updated to show a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console instead, which has no disc drive at all.

For many, this decision—which could be based on both manufacturing cost savings and greater control over the product, while effectively putting an end to the secondhand market—seriously undermines both the preservation of video games and the concept of ownership. Some also point out that this is a first for the studio: previous titles such as Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) were released as complete physical editions on multiple discs, so the format itself is by no means an obstacle.

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The best-kept secret of Grand Theft Auto VI has had nothing to do with spoilers about its story mode or the fate of Jason and Lucía, its two protagonists, but rather with the distribution method chosen by Rockstar Games for its flagship game. The secrecy surrounding this has been such that even Sony, the manufacturer of the PlayStation 5—the best-selling console on which GTA 6 will be available in late 2026—has found itself in a bit of a bind and forced to quickly revise a marketing campaign. For now, while some are calling for a boycott over this snub to the physical format, many fans are hoping that between now and November 19, there won’t be any more unpleasant surprises regarding such a highly anticipated title.

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