GTA 6 fans paying ridiculous price to eBay scalpers despite no shortage of pre-orders at launch

Grand Theft Auto 6 fans are already shelling out way above retail price to buy pre-orders through eBay, despite there being absolutely no shortage of copies available to purchase directly.

Pre-orders for the long-awaited sequel officially opened on 25 June, with Rockstar Games confirming the Standard Edition will cost $79.99 and the Ultimate Edition will set fans back $99.99. The Ultimate Edition includes an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel and action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia's story, while every pre-order, regardless of edition, comes bundled with the Vintage Vice City Pack, a set of nostalgic items themed around the game's earlier eras.

GTA 6 is set to launch on 19 November 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with Rockstar also confirming that digital pre-loading will begin on 12 November so players can have the game ready to go the moment servers go live.

Even the physical edition of the game isn't a traditional disc release. The boxed version only contains a download code, meaning there's no real scarcity around discs or physical stock in the usual sense that might otherwise justify a price hike.

Pre-orders for the long-awaited sequel officially opened on 25 June, with Rockstar Games confirming the Standard Edition will cost $79.99 and the Ultimate Edition will set fans back $99.99 (Rockstar Games)

Why are people paying more than retail price for GTA 6 pre-orders?

Despite the game being freely available to pre-order through official channels at a fixed price, multiple sold eBay listings show buyers paying well above retail for the privilege of doing exactly the same thing through a third party.

One sold listing for a PS5/Xbox Series X|S pre-order went for $138.20, plus an additional $17.03 delivery charge. Another PS5 presale listing from the US sold for $120, plus $9.53 delivery. Other sold listings show the standard PS5 edition going for $87.90, $93.22 with $20.47 delivery, and $101.19, all comfortably above the confirmed $79.99 retail price. Even the pricier Ultimate Edition saw a listing sell for $101.19, slightly above its $99.99 official cost.

The listings appear to be for pre-orders rather than rare physical stock, which makes the markup especially unusual given that anyone can secure the exact same pre-order through Rockstar or official storefronts without paying a premium.

People have been paying well over the odds prices for GTA 6 despite it being available for pre-order (RockStar Games)

How can you avoid overpaying for a GTA 6 pre-order?

GTA 6 can still be pre-ordered through official digital storefronts including the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store, and boxed copies, when they arrive, will not include a disc at all. Rockstar's physical edition is scheduled to become available from 12 November to support pre-loading, but buyers should be aware it will only include a code that can be redeemed for the digital download.

Rockstar confirmed as much in its pre-order details for physical editions, stating plainly that a disk will not be included in the box.