It remains to be seen what form GTA Online will take in the years to come, but at least initially, it will not be included with Grand Theft Auto 6. Rockstar has confirmed the upcoming game “features a single-player experience” for its November 19 launch date.
That nugget of info was shared as part of the pricing and preorder-date announcement. As it’s 2026, you’re still going to need the internet to play GTA 6, at least initially, as the game’s “physical” edition will actually contain a download code.
Not launching with online multiplayer actually puts GTA 6 in the same boat as GTA 5, which didn’t receive its GTA Online component until a few weeks after launch back in 2013. Of course, there was already a plan in place for that, whereas with GTA 6, it remains very unclear how online multiplayer will function in some future iteration of GTA Online, assuming there is one. Preorders include a free month of GTA+, which comes with GTA Online content, and Rockstar says it’s “the best way to get the most out of its ever-evolving world,” but we’ll have to wait and see if that’s still the case a year from now.
As many expected, GTA 6 will be expensive. It launches on November 19 for $80 on both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but the $100 Ultimate Edition contains a whole bunch of additional content, including extra story missions. Preorders open June 25.