Grand Theft Auto 6 ditched traditional discs for its “physical” launch, with Rockstar’s game being sold as a digital code-in-box at retailers beginning this week. However, it appears a packaging choice may have accidentally left the game vulnerable to thieves–assuming they have a flashlight.
As shared on the forum ResetEra, users who received a physical version of Grand Theft Auto 6, at least in PEGI regions, report that the game’s download code is printed directly on the inside of the cover rather than on a card or separate insert. When a flashlight is focused on the cover from the outside of the closed game case, the download code is visible in reverse.
In other words, there’s a serious risk people could go into a store, do this trick, redeem the code, and leave the poor soul who actually buys the game off the shelf without GTA 6.
At this time, the trick does not seem to work on North American copies of GTA 6, as the code is intentionally obscured. Why Rockstar would not use this strategy on all regions is unclear. We’ve reached out to Rockstar for an explanation and will update this post if and when we receive a response.
If you happen to get your GTA 6 code stolen after paying $80, you can at least sleep soundly knowing that the thief can’t play the game yet. Code-in-box copies, as well as digital preorders, all unlock for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19.
