Update: The GTA 6 pre-order date has been revealed. You’ll be able to reserve your copy of Grand Theft Auto 6 on June 25, 2026.
🤔 A potential update for the GTA 6 pre-order timeline might have come from Microsoft of all places
👀 A coordinated social post went out on official Xbox accounts, encouraging users to wishlist GTA 6
😮 It marked the first posts from Xbox about the game in 11 months and came after Take-Two said pre-orders were “imminent” on a recent earnings call
😖 Previous rumors had indicated that a pre-order campaign would go live last week, although this didn’t occur
Microsoft, of all companies, has shared an exciting update that could mean GTA 6 pre-orders are closer than we think.
On May 22, official Xbox accounts posted a coordinated social post, encouraging people to wishlist GTA 6, marking the first official post about the game from Xbox in almost a year.
This is significant as it took place moments after Take-Two’s recent earnings call on May 21 where the publisher described GTA 6 pre-orders as “imminent”.
To be clear, this was a push on Xbox’s part for people to wishlist, not pre-order the game, although it’s still a small step closer to the anticipated marketing push many are expecting Rockstar to undertake ahead of the GTA 6 release date in November 2026.
Moreover, this is likely to have been a coordinated push from Rockstar and Microsoft, suggesting something bigger is afoot, as we likely expect a heavy marketing push to occur as the summer rolls on.
Wishlisting allows users to be instantly notified when a pre-order for a game goes live on a digital storefront.
This is some potentially good news at a time when folks have been expecting GTA 6 pre-orders, especially with recent rumors that had indicated an impending pre-order, courtesy of a Best Buy affiliate email sent to websites and creators that mentioned GTA 6 as a ‘new product’ with a window of May 18 to May 21.
That pre-order never went live during the original window, although reports from Insider Gaming have noted that this may not have been the case originally, with pre-orders expected in July or August 2026.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also recently admitted that the expectations for Grand Theft Auto VI are “terrifying” and said that meeting those expectations is “a pretty daunting challenge”. It probably doesn’t help that a former GTA 6 dev said the game “probably won’t look as good as the trailers”.
We don’t know how much the game is going to cost, nor what editions will be available when it eventually goes up for pre-order, although a more expensive GTA 6 Collector’s Edition is likely based on previous Rockstar releases.
Rumors had suggested that the standard game may cost upwards of $100, although others have corroborated on a more sensible $70-$80 retail price.
Up next: GTA 6 release date still on track, with Take-Two rebuffing delay rumors
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.