GTA 6 pre-orders officially break the golden rule of the game

Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders are now live, undermining the usual gaming “golden rule” of never pre-ordering games. Over the years, many gamers have been burned by unfortunate launches for titles they were excited to pre-order, but GTA 6 causing many ardent fans to ignore the “no pre-order” rule. Sales are off to a huge start for Rockstar, and those numbers are sure to continue to soar as the days go by.

The road to this point has been a year-long journey, though GTA 6 pre-orders finally coming true have made the game feel closer than ever. It honestly feels surreal that the game has finally reached this point, and the number of players flocking to pre-order Rockstar's latest title is further proof that GTA 6 is a game that many people won't think twice about buying in advance. So many gamers jumping at the chance to pre-order is definitely not surprising, but it's fascinating to see years of “no pre-order” discourse go down the drain in an instant.

Family

GTA 6 is the ultimate sacrifice for Warner Bros.' Nemesis' patent

Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System has been locked away in the Warner Bros. vault, and GTA 6 suffers the most from its absence.

The “never pre-order” rule exists for a good reason

At first glance, it seems like pre-ordering a game only makes sense, especially if you want to make sure they've secured a physical copy at launch. But the last decade has shown time and time again why pre-ordering a game before it's officially out has become a bad idea most of the time. Not all games are like this, but many major releases in recent years have unfortunately been added to the list of disappointing video game launches.

Bugs, lack of content, and even being incomplete at launch have all been major issues when it comes to pre-order games. This has built up a very understandable paranoia around pre-ordering, though GTA 6 is one of the few games that can bypass that stigma. Even with the price on GTA 6 at $80 and the Ultimate Edition costing even more, that still hasn't deterred gamers from diving into the pre-order pool.

GTA 6's Ultimate Edition costs $100 and features exclusive in-game content such as shops, cosmetics for Jason and Lucia, cars, weapons, and even extra missions. This content can only be accessed through the Ultimate Edition.

A look at some games that had notorious launches

Cyberpunk 2077
Starfield
No Man's Sky
Fallout 76
Assassin's Creed Unity
Anthem
Halo: Infinite
WWE 2K20

This list could honestly be even longer, but the games listed above are some of the most notable. One of the most controversial game releases of the last decade was undoubtedly Cyberpunk 2077s launch. It was one of the rare times that PlayStation offered refunds to disappointed players, but developer CD Projekt Red eventually bounced back and turned Cyberpunk 2077 to one of the best RPGs of the 2020s.

Games like Starfield, Fallout 76, No Man's Skyand Halo: Infinite lacked compelling content, while Anthem, Assassin's Creed Unityand WWE 2K20 were filled with staggering bugs and errors. The state of the industry right now has caused aggressive crunches to meet publisher deadlines and keep shareholders happy, often putting developers in situations where they have to push through games when they're not quite ready yet. As game development has become more complex, it has become much more difficult to turn around games in the amount of time higher ups desire, and the cycle this has created continues to plague the industry.

Pre-ordering a game is often risky, but Rockstar's track record makes GTA 6 a different situation

Deciding whether or not to pre-order a game is a personal decision, so no one should ever feel guilty for doing so. But many players have perfectly good reasons to at least try to warn other players before they go and spend money on a game that they are not fully aware of its state. GTA 6 different from other titles when it comes to pre-order, however, is that games from Rockstar have a reputation for being complete and well-polished at launch.

Rockstar has proven time and time again that they value quality above all else

It's no secret that Rockstar has taken its sweet time with GTA 6. Eight years have passed since then Red Dead Redemption 2s story and gameplay lifted Rockstar to new heights, and GTA 5 is still very popular, despite its release over a decade ago in 2013. Rockstar has remained deeply secretive about the finer GTA 6 details, and that the secrecy and delays that have plagued the game's development have built up an intense level of hype. Management up to GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption had their own delays as well, and the finished product at both launches showed that the games were well worth the wait.

Also GTA 6s physical version that doesn't have a disc can't stop people from pre-ordering. The decision to go with a discless release has definitely upset many gamers, but the average customer simply just wants to play the game. Because of Rockstar's incredibly strong track record, people will show up no matter what.

GTA 5 has sold over 250 million copies, and Red Dead Redemption 2 have sold over 85 million copies, making them the second and third best-selling video games of all time, with Minecraft overtake first place.

GTA 6's pre-order data is starting to roll in

According to RockstarINTEL, the first batch of GTA 6physical copies (both PS5 and Xbox Series X/S) sold out on Amazon within the first hour of going live. Amazon has since been restocked, but it's a good example of how excited gamers are to get their hands on a copy of the game. As the days go by, see reports of GTA 6s sales figures will be fascinating. Controversial decisions that GTA 6s exclusive Ultimate Edition content and a discless box are still frustrating, but Rockstar's long-awaited game is expected to be such a massive pop culture moment that it's hard for people to turn down a pre-order.