Fans of Grand Theft Auto 6 are putting down pre-orders for the Ultimate Edition — the $100-upgrade — more often than for the regular release. Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two (Rockstar’s parent), told CNBC the premium version is outselling the cheaper SKU right now. He also allowed that this may simply reflect who’s buying early: the most eager players.
It's skewed toward the premium edition; likely because the most active buyers are the ones pre-ordering at this stage.
He was also pushed on holiday sales, given the launch comes just before Black Friday and Christmas. Zelnick wouldn’t promise anything — retailers set promos on their own — but noted that prices for GTA 5 have held steady for years, so a big temporary cut seems unlikely. (Stores sometimes drop prices to stimulate footfall or shift other stock, i.e., a loss leader tactic.)
We set our prices, but stores can do whatever they want — that's out of our hands. If a retailer lowers the price, they reduce their margin. Sometimes they do that to drive demand for other items. I can’t predict what will happen, but we have kept prices on GTA 5 much longer than with a typical entertainment release.
On the much-discussed lack of a physical disc, he didn’t rule out a post-launch physical SKU, and said he doesn’t think the omission will meaningfully hurt sales — despite some players' complaints.