Waiting for Black Friday to buy GTA 6? Don't, and here's the math

No: GTA 6 won't get cheaper on Black Friday, November 27, at least not officially. It isn't in PlayStation Store's Black Friday sale, it costs the same $79.99 (£69.99 in the UK) on every store we checked, and Take-Two has already said it has no plans to cut the price any time soon. The game launches on the 19th, eight days earlier, and the question of whether it's worth holding out keeps coming up. We went through the stores one by one, read the small print on the pre-order bonuses, and worked out what you lose by waiting.

Is GTA 6 in the PlayStation Store Black Friday sale?

No. Sony kicked off PlayStation Store's Black Friday Deals on November 4, with up to 75% off thousands of games and the sale running until Monday, November 30. We went through the whole list on the official PlayStation Blog, from 007 First Light down, and there isn't a single Rockstar game in it: no GTA VI, no GTA V, no Red Dead Redemption 2. The only Grand Theft Auto on that page is a link to a different post, the one about the November 10 pre-load.

There is one catch: Sony says new titles join the promotion on November 16. But discounting a game three days before it even comes out would be unheard of, and it runs straight into what Take-Two has said (more on that below).

On the GTA VI PlayStation Store page, the sale price and the base price are identical: €79.99 for the Standard Edition and €99.99 for the Ultimate in Europe.

How much does GTA 6 cost right now?

The same as on day one. We checked the Xbox Store in each market on November 7:

In Europe, PlayStation Store and Xbox Store charge exactly the same. Not one of the listings shows a discount.

Why is nobody discounting it?

Because Take-Two doesn't want it to happen, and it has said so plainly. In August, speaking to CNBC in comments reported by GamingBolt, CEO Strauss Zelnick summed it up in two lines:

• On retailers: "We establish our pricing, and then the storefronts can do what they wish. We don't have any ability to control that. So, if they reduce the price, they're obviously reducing their margin on the sale."
• On the future: he pointed out that GTA V held its price for "much longer than a standard release and entertainment property" and admitted GTA VI will come down "eventually", without putting a date on it.

In other words: any discount comes out of the retailer's own pocket. And with the most anticipated game of the decade, one that will sell itself, no store has a reason to do that in launch week.

There's another detail that rules out the usual cheap-boxed-copy deal: there's no disc at launch. The box contains a download code, as Rockstar confirmed in June, according to VGC. So the "physical" version is the same digital game in different packaging, and it costs the same.

What do you lose by waiting until November 27?

Eight days of play, plus the launch bonuses, which have an expiry date:

• Vintage Vice City Pack. On Xbox Store, it goes to anyone who buys before November 19 at 23:59:59; on PlayStation Store, to anyone who pre-orders or buys the digital edition before November 19. Most retailers include it with a pre-order.
• One month of GTA+. Only with a digital purchase on PlayStation Store or Xbox Store within that same window. On PS5 you have to redeem it by March 31, 2027; on Xbox, within 180 days of your pre-order. Heads-up: the subscription auto-renews unless you cancel it.
• The pre-load. If you already own the game you can download it from November 10. Wait for Black Friday and you'll be pulling down more than 200 GB on the day, right when half the planet is doing the same.

Even if a $5 or $10 discount turned up on November 27, you'd have missed the pack, the month of GTA+ and eight days in Vice City. The numbers just don't work.

Are there any Black Friday deals involving GTA 6?

Only one, in the US, and it isn't a price cut. According to GameRant, Best Buy is giving members of its loyalty programme a $50 voucher if they pre-order the game and buy an eligible PS5 or Xbox Series X|S, plus 10% back in points for paid members who buy the game by November 18. The game costs exactly the same: what changes is what you get back afterwards.

Beyond that, the closest you'll get are retailer loyalty points and the store-wide coupons the big chains roll out around this time. If any of them lets you use a Black Friday code on GTA VI, we'll update this story.

So should I buy now or wait?

If you're going to play on November 19, buy it now: it costs the same everywhere, there's no official discount in sight, and buying before launch gets you bonuses that won't be there later. If you're in no hurry, GTA V's history says patience is measured in months or years, not days, and Zelnick has already warned it'll be the same this time. On Monday, November 9, Take-Two reports its last earnings before launch, where price and pre-orders could come up again.

For what each edition includes, see our breakdown of the Standard vs Ultimate Edition.