Grand Theft Auto VI, a game so big its release date seems to be bending matter around it, will not be shipping with physical media copies after all. Earlier in the week, an email said to be from Rockstar’s customer support suggested that a disc version may arrive shortly after the initial launch, giving hope to hard media fans and retailers. A source tells The Hollywood Reporter that the email is the legitimate article, but that clunky language is to blame for the latest rumor. There continues to be no physical media version of Grand Theft Auto VI.
On Thursday, an email from Rockstar Support led to speculation that despite Grand Theft Auto VI launching as a digital only, with store copies only containing a code in a box, that a disc version would be just around the corner. Asking about retail copies, Rockstar’s email said that “you will be able to acquire a physical copy during the following months.” Fans wondered if the digital-only was just for the first printing, and that following runs would change course.
The Hollywood Reporter, in a piece about physical games caving as DVDs before them, followed up on the rumor. According to their source, the email is real but the interpretation is not. The “physical copy” refers to the already known box with download instructions in it, while “the following months” refers to the month’s following pre-order announcements, not the actual November release. The rumor sparked a glimmer of hope from hard copy hardliners, retailers and those hoping to salvage some hard drive space.
It is shocking that a game as large as Grand Theft Auto, both in hype and in memory space, will be shipping without discs. It will be devastating to retailers, who are already straining ahead of the game’s release, with some chains confirming they won’t even be carrying the empty boxes. For other fans, it hasn’t dissuaded them from buying the lone box. The era of lending your buddy Grand Theft Auto for the weekend is over. The reign of tenuous digital ownership of $100 games has begun in full.