Grand Theft Auto 6's download codes will be tied to the region they were bought in on PlayStation 5, but will be redeemable on any account on Xbox Series X/S, Polygon reports. The difference carries more weight than it normally would, because Rockstar Games is shipping the game without a disc.
The game is a timed console exclusive, so players who want it at launch have to buy it on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S. According to Polygon, it will not be sold on a physical disc at all: boxed editions contain a download code and nothing else, which means every buyer ends up with a digital copy. A region-locked code cannot be redeemed when the country attached to a player's account does not match the region the code was issued for, so every PS5 buyer is subject to that restriction. Xbox codes carry no equivalent limit.
How PlayStation splits the regions
Polygon lists the PS5 code regions as follows, each covering either a single country or a group of them.
- Brazil
- LATAM
- North America
- Korea
- Japan
- United Kingdom
- Saudi Arabia and UAE
- Rest of Asia
- Rest of EMEA and Asia
The split matters most for PlayStation players who plan to buy a boxed edition from a retailer rather than ordering through the console store, since the code inside the box has to match the region of the account redeeming it. Polygon notes that collectors still buy the boxes to display them, one of the reasons the industry's move away from discs has drawn criticism.
The region difference lands in the middle of an argument over how GTA 6 pre-orders are actually selling. IGN reported that its PlayStation 5 affiliate link outperformed its Xbox link by eight to one. Xbox has said that figure reflected internet traffic rather than sales, and that its own GTA 6 pre-orders have reached record numbers. Polygon reports that retail stores have seen a clear decline in pre-orders, with staff accounts describing customers who would rather place a digital pre-order at home than carry out a box containing only a region-locked code.
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