GTA 6 has two editions: Standard at $79.99 / £69.99 and Ultimate at $99.99 / £89.99. Pre-orders opened 25 June 2026. Everyone who pre-orders gets the Vintage Vice City Pack; everyone who buys digitally gets a free month of GTA+. The $20 gap buys cosmetics, vehicles — and, more contentiously, several customisation shops and at least one activity chain that the Standard Edition simply does not have access to.
That last part is why the reveal drew the reaction it did. This is not a skin bundle. Some of what is behind the upgrade reads like content.
What everyone gets: the Vintage Vice City Pack
Included with any pre-order, either edition, as described by Rockstar:
- ’55 Vapid Stanier — a classic sedan, stored at the Shore Court garage near Ocean Beach, with a weapon locker and a place to fence stolen goods.
- Outfits and hairstyles — Jason’s linen suit in vintage pastel; Lucia’s red sequin mini dress and curls.
- Exclusive weapon pattern — a tropical print “inspired by Tommy Vercetti’s iconic palm tree button-up.”
PC Gamer’s read, which we share: this pack will almost certainly be sold separately after launch, so it is a timing incentive rather than a permanent exclusive.
What the Ultimate Edition adds
Vehicles and garages: ’95 Grotti Cheetah with a retro-futurist livery; a Ganado Retro Build for Jason’s pickup; a Shitzu Squalo boat docked at Washington Beach with an explosives crate; a ’67 Vapid Dominator Buggy plus the Paradise Garage in Watson Bay; and safehouse extras — a Dinka Enduro motorcycle and a Crest Kayak.
Weapons and cosmetics: his-and-hers Hawk & Little Morgan Revolvers sourced from the Vercetti Estate; engraved variants of Jason’s Girardi ES9 and Lucia’s Klose K17 pistols; a “Vice City Style” outfit and tattoo set; and Goodtime Gear, a capsule collection themed on an in-world TV character named Macca the Alligator.
Activities and vendors — the contentious part:
| Unlock | What it is |
|---|---|
| Classic Car Collection | Track down and restore abandoned project cars for a collector named Wyman. Reads like a full side-quest chain. |
| Ptt Youngin$ Compound | Raid a Southside Vice City gang compound for special items and contraband. |
| Rideout Customs | Vehicle customisation: interiors, rims, donk styling. |
| Sara’s Unisex Salon | Hair, facial hair, makeup and nails for both protagonists. |
| Stock 305 | Streetwear shop in Stockyard. |
| Electric Fang Tattoo | 50+ tattoos designed by artist collective FAILE. |
| One-Eyed Willie’s | Lake Leonida mod shop for off-road builds and hand-painted work. |
Rockstar has said the Ultimate content is not a single unlock — items become available as you progress through chapters of the story rather than all at once.
The objection is straightforward: buying clothes, tattoos and car mods with money you earned in-game is a load-bearing part of what a Grand Theft Auto campaign is. Gating four shops and a salon behind a $20 upgrade changes the shape of the base game, not just its wardrobe. PC Gamer called it “essentially locking cut-content behind an upgrade.”
Should you buy the Ultimate Edition now?
Our honest read: probably not yet, and this is the one piece of buying advice we will give.
Rockstar has not said the Ultimate content will be sold separately after launch, but every recent precedent — including its own pre-order packs — points that way, and PC Gamer’s guide makes the same assumption. Nothing in the Ultimate Edition is time-limited by any announced deadline. The only thing with a real deadline is the Vintage Vice City Pack, which is tied to pre-ordering or buying before 20 November.
If you want the Vintage pack, pre-ordering the Standard Edition gets it. You can decide about the other $20 in November.
No disc, and what that means
There is no disc version of GTA 6 at launch. Boxed copies contain a download code. Take-Two confirmed this on 24 June, alongside the editions reveal. Boxes ship on 12 November — a week early — specifically so buyers can redeem and pre-load before the 19th.
Take-Two also said the launch version will “feature a single player experience,” which is the closest thing to an official comment on when or whether a GTA 6 online mode arrives.
Zelnick told analysts on 7 August that pre-orders were “unprecedented and astonishing,” while declining to give numbers or forecast how they convert to sales.