Grand Theft Auto VI Pre-Orders Begin Thursday; Wall Street Responds…

Take-Two Interactive said that its Rockstar Games studio will begin long-awaited pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI on Thursday. The action-packed game is priced at $79.99 and is scheduled to launch on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

“Launching November 19, 2026, for the PlayStation 5 computer entertainment systems and Xbox Series X|S games and entertainment systems for $79.99, Grand Theft Auto VI features a single-player experience set in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the series yet,” Take-Two wrote in a press release. 

The last major GTA release was GTA V, which launched on September 17, 2013. Gamers have been waiting 13 years for a major GTA installment.

Last week, Rockstar Games gave gamers the best look yet inside the new GTA game, which has excited players worldwide. This comes after years of launch delays.

Rockstar just gave us the best look yet at non-enterable buildings in GTA VI

It’s not a straight up png like in GTA V and other open world games with skyscrapers but at the same time, it doesn’t have anywhere near the detail as the rest of the game. What I’m really curious about… https://t.co/Q5ko9Gpawz pic.twitter.com/kVQTiGZ4VR

— Farzam (@farzam_plays) June 18, 2026

Raymond James analyst Andrew Marok said the pricing for GTA VI and launch data is “broadly in line with expectations.” 

Marok’s first take:

Rockstar announced pre-order and pricing details for Grand Theft Auto VI this morning. Preorders will begin at midnight local time on June 25, with two editions of the game available. The base game will retail for $80, with the Ultimate Edition (including an exclusive collection of ingame vehicles, weapons, and skins) priced at $100.

Base game pricing in line with our expectations. Based on commentary from management around pricing to value, and making the game as accessible as possible to the broadest player segment as they can, we did not expect aggressive pricing on the base game, and $80 feels like a fair trade in that department. It is slightly above the current industry norm of $70; some publishers including Nintendo have attempted to reset the bar at $80 with varying levels of success. However, if there is one game that can price at $80 without garnering significant player pushback, Grand Theft Auto VI is that game given its massive scale and anticipation.

Ultimate edition pricing also around expectations, but “high-end”/deluxe edition absent. Rockstar announced the Ultimate Edition for $100, which includes the base game plus a collection of exclusive in-game items including vehicles, weapons, character skins, and more. The Ultimate edition is priced at only a 25% premium to the base game, which would be the lowest percentage increase on an upsell edition in the post-GTA IV era for Rockstar (though given their convention of rounding to the nearest $10 for pricing, it is the closest figure they could have gotten to without “over-pricing” the SKU – $110 would have been a 38% increase).

We may not have heard the last word on premium editions. Interestingly, Rockstar announced only two editions of GTA VI in this morning’s release. That breaks with their pattern of three different launch SKUs per title, which was true for both Gen-7+ releases (GTA V and Red Dead 2). The key difference this time is that we have not yet heard any announcements about the GTA VI Online launch. Given that we would expect that virtual currency bundles and/or GTA Online exclusive in-game items to be part of any premium edition that exists when GTA Online is confirmed, we still see the possibility that there could be another deluxe SKU announced when the gaming public receives more detail on GTA Online.

Separately, BTIG analyst Clark Lampen initiated coverage of Take-Two earlier this morning with a Buy rating and a 12-month price target of $290, explaining:

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: We’re launching coverage of Take-Two Interactive with a Buy rating and a $290 PT. Later this year, Take-Two is scheduled to release the next installment of its most important and commercially relevant global gaming franchise – Grand Theft Auto VI (11/19 release date).

We expect the title to catalyze a sustainable, multi-year improvement in earnings power for the enterprise (BTIGe $10 in average earnings power over the FY27-29 timeframe) and based on other tentpole releases from the Rockstar label, there is precedent for multiple expansion throughout the prerelease marketing cycle. In tandem, we see a path to a higher share price over the balance of the year, which underpins our Buy rating and price target.

Related:

• Is Take-Two Sandbagging Guidance Ahead Of Grand Theft Auto VI Launch?

TTWO shares were muted on Wednesday morning following the release.

For the next leg up, shares need to trade north of $250.