Fans of Grand Theft Auto 6, or GTA 6, are in a frenzy once again. This time, it’s due to reports that Best Buy may have accidentally leaked the game’s pre-order date. The wait for Trailer 3 has been lengthy, and enthusiasts have been eagerly anticipating any news.
The hype surrounding GTA 6 has led fans to grasp at any potential information. Some believe a Trailer 3 release date prediction made by a fan who charted the planetary positions for every Rockstar Games trailer released since 2007.
A YouTuber known as Frogboyx1gaming claimed to have received an email from Best Buy to his affiliate account. The email appeared to signal a pre-order campaign for GTA 6, set to run from May 18-21. If true, this would suggest that GTA 6 pre-orders are set to go live on May 18.
There is debate about the legitimacy of the email. Frogboyx1gaming seems surprised to have received it during a live stream. He shared images and photos to support his claim. Discussion has centred on various parts of the email, including the description of GTA 6 and the idea that Best Buy would send such an email. IGN has asked Best Buy for comment.
?BREAKING: GTA VI Pre-Orders (Physical) have leaked online!
It seems that Best-Buy affiliates have been receiving this email. The campaign is set to be running next week from May 18th-21st.
Credit:
https://twitter.com/Frogboyx1Gaming?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
pic.twitter.com/eETF1Tuepx– Project Vice (@project_vice)
The intense scrutiny on GTA 6, Rockstar Games, and related news is evident. Fans are tracking even minor details, such as activity at coffee shops near Rockstar North’s office in Scotland.
The huge gap between trailer drops and basic gameplay information has contributed to the frenzy. Over a year has passed since Trailer 2 was released, and Trailer 1 came out three years ago. The slow drip of GTA 6 news has stretched fans to breaking point.
Maybe a crazy theory, but I feel like that GTA 6 Best Buy email was just scheduled at the wrong time.
Was probably meant to go live later today. Right date, wrong time. I’ve made that mistake before. Could bode well for today!- TGG (@TGGonYT)
Strauss Zelnick, the boss of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two, has stated that GTA 6 marketing will intensify in the summer. This is ahead of the planned November release date.
Earlier this month, Business Insider reported that Take-Two is estimated to have spent $1-1.5 billion on GTA 6. Zelnick wouldn’t confirm the exact figure but admitted it was expensive.
The budget for GTA 6 far exceeds that of other major video games. For comparison, Bungie’s extraction shooter reportedly had a budget of over $250 million.
In 2023, documents revealed that The Last of Us: Part II and Horizon Forbidden West each cost more than $200 million to develop.
Activision’s Call of Duty games have also had substantial budgets. A court document confirmed that Activision pumped $700 million into Black Ops Cold War alone, although that was over the game’s life cycle.
Given the expectation that GTA 6 will be the biggest entertainment launch of all time, the high development costs are not surprising.
Some of the thousands of staff at Rockstar have been working on GTA 6 for over a decade.
Zelnick has said that development costs have risen over the years. However, Take-Two tries to give its teams “unlimited financial, creative human resources and then they aim to deliver perfection.”
The conversation about GTA 6 development costs inevitably leads to speculation about the game’s price.
Bank of America recently suggested that GTA 6 could be sold for $80, $10 more than the norm. Analyst opinions on the GTA 6 price vary, with some arguing that Rockstar should stick with $70. Others believe it could justify a price of up to $100.
