We are less than two weeks away from Grand Theft Auto VI. Developed by Rockstar Games for close to a decade, the game will debut on the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 on November 19. It cost over $1 billion to make, and it's anticipated to make billions more in the years to come.
Set in a fully explorable Vice City (and the greater state of Leonida), GTA VI is a groundbreaking technical achievement, and every day we learn how far Rockstar Games was willing to go. The NPCs, for example, were developed by an entire, separate team of writers, directors, and producers, who created over 600,000 animations to express their personalities.
This game is a testament to what hundreds of human beings could create in a pre-AI environment. Future games will no doubt be more detailed, more expansive, more varied. But they may never be this singularly impressive. GTA VI will be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. And it's time to get ready.
Here is everything you can do, right now, to prepare for the launch of GTA VI on November 19. It's going to be epic.
Pre-order the game
First things first. You'll want to pre-order the game digitally to ensure you can play on launch day, not the day after; more on that later. You have two options in this regard:
Standard Edition ($79.99)
Preordering the digital Standard Edition of GTA VI comes with the full base game, one free month of GTA+ (a premium membership program that offers perks in GTA Online), and the Vintage Vice City Pack (throwback designs, one exclusive car, one free garage, and retro styles and clothing for Jason and Lucia). It also comes with the ability to pre-load the game on November 10—nine days in advance of the November 19 launch date.
Ultimate Edition ($99.99)
The Ultimate Edition digital preorder comes with everything that the Standard Edition includes, plus the Ultimate Edition Upgrade. The Ultimate Edition Upgrade includes additional exclusive vehicles, weapons, styles and clothing, another garage, and two exclusive missions. It also includes exclusive stores, including vehicle mod shops, a tattoo parlor, a salon, and a clothing store.
So, which one should I buy?
The Standard Edition, absolutely, for one crucial reason: you can upgrade to the Ultimate Edition at any time. Look, there's going to be hundreds of hours of content for you to experience in the Standard Edition. There's going to be other clothing stores and other mod shops in the Standard Edition. If you somehow get through all that and still want more? Then sure, upgrade to the Ultimate Edition. But otherwise, there's no point, because there's no penalty for waiting and deciding later.
Is there a physical edition?
Sort of, but not really. You get a physical box, but there's no disc inside—just a digital code, which means you’re downloading the game either way. You can pre-order a physical edition, but it won't be mailed out until November 12—seven days before the launch date. Meanwhile, the digital preorder will become available for pre-load on November 10—nine days before the launch date.
Pre-load it
Let's talk about the pre-load. If you pre-order, Rockstar lets you download the game early. To be clear, you still won't be able to play the game until November 19. That way, you won’t have to download it on launch day and then wait for it to install. With the pre-order, you can play GTA VI the moment it goes live.
Both the Standard Edition and the Ultimate Edition let you pre-load the game starting November 10.
Make space on your console’s hard drive
The size of the download file for GTA VI is 212 GB. That means you'll probably have to delete some games off your hard drive to make room for this one. Luckily, that shouldn't be too much of a problem; deleting a game from your console doesn't delete your save file, and you can always download it again if you want to play it.
Invest in peripherals?
It's probably not a coincidence that Sony is promoting some new peripherals at the same time as the biggest game software launch in history. If you want a premium 3D-audio experience when you explore Vice City, there's a new PlayStation Pulse Wireless Headset that launches on November 19 and is available for pre-order now. It has a 30-hour battery life, an AI noise-canceling mic, and "planar magnetic drivers," which I'm guessing is tech-speak for "sounds awesome."
Take off work?
November 19 is a Thursday, so realistically, you'd have to take Thursday and Friday (November 20) off to get any serious gaming done. If you have the vacation days, however, a four-day weekend would be nice, wouldn't it? Regardless, the sooner you let your boss know, the better off you'll be.
If you do decide to call in absent, you won't be alone. One researcher estimates that 1.5 million people will take off from work on November 19, which will lead to a $1 billion loss in productivity. So while you're wondering if you should take off? Don't be so sure that your boss isn't taking off too.
Stay off the internet
Starting on November 18 (the review embargo breaks the day before the launch), the Internet is going to be a minefield for spoilers. But there are precautionary measures you can take to avoid them, starting with social media. X (Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok have settings to mute specific keywords, and Facebook can "snooze" the pages or groups that you follow to minimize exposure.
Remember: Eat, drink, sleep, and move around
There are isolated incidents where gamers have literally played themselves to death after marathon sessions in front of the screen. In 2011, 20-year-old Chris Staniforth, who regularly engaged in 12-hour play sessions, suffered a pulmonary embolism due to a blood clot that moved to his lungs. Blood clots are a high risk for people who are immobile; it's why you're encouraged to stand up, stretch, and walk around during international flights.
So, drink water, order food, sleep regularly, and get up to stretch. Remember, this is supposed to be fun. You don't want to be on the cover of the local paper for "death by gaming exhaustion." There are more humiliating ways to go, but there aren't many.
We're nearly there. Hold on, everyone.
