You'll need to upgrade to enjoy the latest from Rockstar Games
Millions of PlayStation owners are unable to preorder a copy of Grand Theft Auto VI, despite the feverishly anticipated (and twice-delayed) title now available to reserve from Sony's digital storefront. Developer Rockstar Games confirmed plans to launch preorders on June 25 last week, before revealing that the next entry in the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto, or GTA, franchise starts from £69.99 in the UK.
GTA VI will be exclusive to Sony PS5, PS5 Digital Edition, Sony PS5 Pro, XBOX Series X, and XBOX Series S at launch.
Rockstar Games has not confirmed a release date for a Nintendo Switch 2 or PC version of the title. Unlike some of the biggest new releases that arrived after the PlayStation 5 console was out — like God of War Ragnarök, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West, and Gran Turismo 7, to name just a few — that were also available on PS4 because of the larger install base, that won't be the case with Grand Theft Auto VI.
That means you'll need to own a PlayStation 5 to enjoy the game. But there are millions of regular PlayStation players who haven't made the jump.
During its earnings call last year, Sony confirmed that it had 124 million players active across PlayStation consoles each month. In 2024, the Japanese gaming firm confirmed that the rough split was 50% of its monthly active users on PlayStation 5, while the other half was still on its predecessor. By the time March 2025 rolled out, Sony decided to stop breaking out the exact percentage of each generation of its console during its earnings calls. However, it confirmed to shareholders that its PlayStation 5 console had moved ahead and now represented a clear majority.
But that only means that it's passed 50% of the total number of monthly active users on the PlayStation Network.
With some (very) rough maths, we can assume around 40–50 million people are still regularly using a PlayStation 4 to enjoy the latest titles. We can deduce that it's still an important slice of the audience, since recurring franchises continue to target older hardware because of that install base, like annual titles from EA Sports, for example.
Avoid the PS5 price rise by saving £90 when you buy refurbished from Sony
Refurbished by the teams at Sony, this PS5 Digital Edition comes with the same 12-month warranty as buying a brand-new console. You'll enjoy the same lightning-fast loading with an ultra-high-speed SSD, haptic feedback and adaptive triggers built into the new controllers, and an all-new generation of incredible PlayStation games
Sony has confirmed that it's shipped 93.7 million PS5 consoles worldwide since its launch, so even if every one of those accesses the PlayStation Network each month — which is unlikely — that still means there are a guaranteed 30.3 million people who will need a new console to play Grand Theft Auto VI ahead of its release on November 19, 2026.
The problem? Sony just bumped up the cost of its flagship console by £90 back in April, so the upgrade to the newest generation of console has never cost more. That means you'll now be paying £569.99 for the standard PS5 with a disc drive – nearly 19% more than its current price of £479.99.
It's the second time in less than a year that Sony has raised prices on its gaming hardware. The company previously increased the cost in the UK earlier last year, blaming "challenging" market conditions at the time. The US also saw a price hike last August.
This time around, Sony cited "continued pressures in the global economic landscape" as the reason for the decision.
Preorders let you reserve a copy of the game – avoiding disappointment if Grand Theft Auto V sells out at launch. It also allows retailers to organise home delivery or collection on the release date. Lastly, with digital purchases from the PlayStation or XBOX storefronts, players can usually start to install the files — likely to be at least 100GB in size — ahead of time, to reduce any wait when the game finally becomes available.
Gaming industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls from Ampere Analysis told Eurogamer, "The supply chain shock of the elongated increase in memory and storage prices – both essential for console hardware – means that there is some inevitability to the PlayStation hardware price increases announced by Sony."
The culprit? Artificial intelligence (AI). Both types of memory chips are in massive demand as tech companies race to construct data centres — those enormous facilities packed with computer chips that power AI systems.
The demand has affected various areas of the tech industry. First-of-its-kind Freely box was hit with a price increase two months after its release. The founder of British start-up Nothing also confirms that smartphone prices will rise this year.
"With no sign of prices easing largely due to demand for AI infrastructure, Sony will have made the move to protect its slim hardware margins," Mr Harding-Rolls explained.
Even thePlayStation Portal handheld device isn't escaping the price rises, though it's getting off relatively lightly with just a £20 bump to £219.99.
These increases aren't just hitting UK gamers – Sony is rolling out similar hikes across Europe, Japan, and the United States from the same date.
Katy Phillips, senior brand and communications manager at idealo, said, “Gamers aren’t used to seeing consoles get more expensive over time, but that’s exactly what’s happening here. This £90 jump effectively means consumers are paying a premium for waiting. We’re seeing a clear spike in demand as shoppers try to secure the lowest possible price before increases take effect.”
The most affordable way to switch to a PlayStation 5 is one of the Certified Refurbished models available direct from Sony. These are limited to one per customer due to the demand. Sony offers the same 12-month hardware warranty on its refurbished consoles, which are serviced by the company itself. However, Sony warns that "Certified Refurbished products may have minor cosmetic imperfections".
Despite the cost of switching to a new console, investment firm Konvoy projects GTA VI will recoup its estimated £1.5 billion development costs within just 30 days of launch. Not only that, within the first two months, the gaming investment firm estimates that revenue will top $7.6bn (£5.7bn).