GTA 6 Best Buy preorder rumor

Rockstar Games did not announce Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders on May 18, despite a wave of online speculation driven by purported Best Buy affiliate emails that suggested sales would begin that day. By late Monday, gaming outlets including IGN, GameSpot and Polygon said the preorder claim appeared to have fizzled, with no official confirmation from Rockstar or parent company Take-Two Interactive. The rumor spread after screenshots of an email tied to Best Buy’s affiliate system circulated online last week. Several reports said the message referred to physical pre-orders for GTA 6 and a limited-time promotion running from May 18 through May 21. ### Where did the Best Buy rumor come from? Kotaku reported on May 14 that an alleged Best Buy email said buyers who pre-ordered a physical copy of Grand Theft Auto 6 between May 18 and May 21 would receive a small discount. (ign.com) IGN later reported that YouTuber Frogboyx1gaming appeared to receive such an email during a livestream through an affiliate account. (kotaku.com) Insider Gaming said it had independently verified that the email itself was real. But that did not amount to confirmation that Rockstar had authorized a public preorder launch for May 18, and the company did not publish any matching announcement on its own channels. ### What, exactly, did fans think was going to happen on May 18? (kotaku.com) May 18 became a focal point because the alleged Best Buy message pointed to that date as the start of the promotion window. Some outlets and social media accounts then linked the supposed preorder launch to expectations for a third GTA 6 trailer, price details or a broader marketing push. (insider-gaming.com) Forbes wrote on May 14 that a verified Best Buy affiliate email pointed to May 18 pre-orders and suggested a third trailer could be tied to the same window. That framing helped fuel broader speculation before the date arrived. ### What happened when May 18 arrived? IGN reported on May 18 that the rumor “looks like a bust” after no preorder pages appeared and no official announcement emerged. (gadgets360.com) GameSpot reached a similar conclusion, saying hopes for Monday pre-orders had hit a dead end. Polygon wrote that trailer rumors also looked like “a giant fake-out,” describing a day in which fans waited for new GTA 6 material that never appeared. (forbes.com) The outlet said frustration built as Monday passed without a trailer or preorder reveal. ### Did Rockstar or Best Buy ever confirm any of it? Rockstar Games had not publicly confirmed May 18 pre-orders as of Tuesday, May 19. (ign.com) IGN and Rolling Out both said Rockstar had not confirmed the information tied to the Best Buy email, and the reporting cited in those stories did not include a formal company statement validating the date. Best Buy’s name remained central because the email was described as part of its affiliate system, but the reports reviewed here did not show a public retailer post announcing GTA 6 pre-orders for May 18. (polygon.com) That gap became more conspicuous once the day passed without storefront changes. ### Why are fans still watching May 21? Wccftech and other outlets tied the rumored May 18-to-21 promotion window to Take-Two Interactive’s earnings call on May 21. (ign.com) That date is now the next concrete point on the calendar that fans and rumor trackers are watching for any mention of Rockstar’s release plans, pricing or preorder timing. Take-Two’s next scheduled earnings report on May 21 gives the rumor cycle a new deadline, even though Monday’s expected preorder launch did not happen. (insider-gaming.com) Until Rockstar posts official sales information, the status of GTA 6 pre-orders remains unchanged. (forbes.com) (wccftech.com)