As previously reported, Rockstar and Take-Two are taking every precaution to avoid leaks of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI, with the pair having already fired staff allegedly associated with leaking confidential information . According to a new leak published by Polish news site, PPE , video game vendors are claiming that GTA VI will be a digital-only launch. In 2026, it's almost expected for games to be digital-only on PC, but this will apparently be true for both the console and PC versions of the game. Supposedly, the digital-only launch strategy is to avoid the possibility of leaks via retail employees. It should be noted, though, that GTA VI will eventually become available in physical form, but there will be a short delay between the digital-only launch and the physical launch.

In order for games, and other physical products to be available at launch, retailers have to have stock ready ahead of time, and it's not uncommon for retail workers or even store owners to sneak an early look at the game and, for example, post a picture or even footage of the packaging, or even of the gameplay itself, to the internet. Presumably, the thinking is that, by staggering the physical release, retailers won't have access to the game ahead of launch, so they won't be able to leak anything. The retailer claims to not know when the physical release will happen, but unless Take-Two really wants to make physical game buyers hurt for their chance to get at the game, it seems likely that the delay between the digital and physical releases won't be much longer than a few weeks, at most. After numerous delays, GTA VI is currently expected to launch on November 19, 2026 , so it wouldn't be surprising to see the physical edition launch before Christmas.