Best Buy accidentally sent a promotional email to its affiliate network revealing that Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders go live on Monday, May 18, 2026. The campaign runs through May 21 and offers affiliates a 5% commission on physical copy sales.
Insider Gaming received the email directly from two independent Best Buy affiliates and verified it is legitimate. The emails originate from Impact, one of the leading affiliate partner marketplaces. YouTuber Frogboyx1Gaming was the first to post about it live on stream, followed by multiple other affiliates confirming they received the same message.
Rockstar and Best Buy have not officially confirmed anything.
The timing points in one direction. Take-Two Interactive’s next earnings call with investors is scheduled for May 21, the final day of the pre-order affiliate campaign window. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said at the end of April that GTA 6 marketing would ramp up “soon.” A Trailer 3 release alongside the pre-order announcement, timed before the earnings call where Zelnick can discuss results with shareholders, is the obvious structure. Rockstar’s official website database was also briefly taken offline on May 11, which fans noticed and interpreted as backend preparation for new marketing material.
Grand Theft Auto 6 has been a story of escalating expectations and missed dates. The game was originally targeted for Fall 2025. Take-Two moved it to May 26, 2026, then delayed again to November 19, 2026. The studio cited a need for additional polish both times. Rockstar issued an apology to fans: “We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve.”
The delays have not dampened the hunger for the game. Trailer 2 has surpassed 160 million views on YouTube. It has been over a year since Rockstar released any substantial new footage. GTA Online is still generating significant revenue, which observers have noted removes some urgency from Rockstar’s side, but Take-Two’s investor pressure in the other direction is real.
The pre-order leak also confirms physical copies will be available at launch. Pricing remains unconfirmed. Reports have ranged from $70 to $100, with Take-Two’s Zelnick describing “full price” in terms suggesting the high end of that range. Rockstar’s hackers, who breached the studio previously, have not been able to surface any substantial pricing leaks according to published reporting.
A former GTA 6 developer added a cautionary note to the anticipation earlier this month, telling The Shortcut the game “probably won’t look as good as the trailers.” GTA trailers have historically been produced at a visual fidelity level that exceeds real-time gameplay. Whether that gap will be visible at launch is a question November 19 will answer.
If pre-orders open Monday as the leak suggests, a new trailer either same-day or within the week is the industry standard practice. The last time Rockstar dropped a GTA 6 trailer, it became the most-viewed gaming trailer in history within 24 hours. Whether Trailer 3 matches that is the week’s open question.
Will you pre-order GTA 6 if pre-orders open Monday, or are you waiting until closer to launch?
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