The Biggest Video Game Ever Has the Weirdest Launch Ever

Yesterday, November 12, 2026, was the "physical" launch day for Grand Theft Auto VI. The game is not playable until next Thursday, November 19, but you can walk into a retailer right now and buy the box. And that's what you are buying—the box. There are no discs. It's three inserts, cover art, and the ghostly imprint where a disc ought to go. More disappointing than the disc-less future the industry is marching towards was the launch itself. I just walked into a Best Buy around 11 AM, walked to the Geek Squad counter (because they don't even use the designated registers anymore), and showed my barcode. There was a little cardboard cube tower marketing the game that helped form the choke point between Tensabarriers and a massive counter from a bygone support era. The elderly man next to me at the counter had a customer support call blasting on speakerphone while the "geek" scrolled on his Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro, presumably waiting for the obnoxious robot voice to resolve. My clerk…

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