Retail leak suggests GTA 6 pre-orders May 18

Best Buy affiliate materials circulated online on May 14 showing a four-day campaign for “GTA 6 Pre Order (Physical Game),” setting off a fresh round of speculation about when Grand Theft Auto VI sales could begin. Insider Gaming said it independently verified the email after receiving it from two affiliates, while other outlets including IGN, CNET and Screen Rant reported on the same materials. Rockstar Games has not announced a pre-order date. The company’s official Grand Theft Auto VI page currently promotes Trailer 2 and describes the game’s setting, characters Jason and Lucia, and the state of Leonida, but does not list a buy button or pre-order page. Best Buy search results viewed on May 15 showed no public GTA VI product listing. ### What exactly did the retail leak show? (insider-gaming.com) The leaked materials described a Best Buy affiliate campaign titled “GTA 6 Pre Order (Physical Game)” running from May 18 through May 21, with a 5% online-sale commission, according to reports that reproduced or described the email. CNET said a Reddit thread on May 13 compiled social posts about the campaign, and Insider Gaming said the messages were authentic after checking with affiliates directly. (rockstargames.com) May 18 became the focal point because several reports tied that campaign window to a possible broader marketing beat, including a third trailer. Screen Rant and Gadgets 360 both said the affiliate message was read by fans and outlets as pointing to a Trailer 3 release alongside pre-orders, but neither outlet cited a direct confirmation from Rockstar. (cnet.com) ### Has Rockstar confirmed any of this? Rockstar Games has confirmed Grand Theft Auto VI itself, its setting and its current marketing materials, but not this retail timetable. The official site says players can “Watch Trailer 2,” and Rockstar’s video pages still list Trailer 1 and Trailer 2 as the public trailer releases available now. The absence of a public pre-order page matters because retailer campaigns can be prepared before a formal launch. (screenrant.com) Best Buy’s own gaming pages advertise that the retailer handles upcoming game pre-orders and release events, but the GTA VI search pages accessible on May 15 still surfaced older Rockstar titles rather than a live Grand Theft Auto VI purchase listing. (rockstargames.com) ### Why did investors focus on the leak? Take-Two Interactive shares rose sharply on May 14 as the rumor spread. Yahoo Finance data showed TTWO closing at $242.41, up 6.79% on the session, after opening at $239.50 and trading as high as $246.25. Gamespot reported the stock jumped by more than 6% as investors reacted to the prospect that Rockstar could soon begin taking pre-orders for its biggest upcoming release. (bestbuy.com) Quiver Quant and other market-focused outlets linked the move to expectations for a new marketing phase before earnings. That connection remains an inference drawn by investors and commentators, not a statement from Take-Two, but the timing put added attention on the company’s next scheduled update. (finance.yahoo.com) ### What has Rockstar actually said about the game’s timing? Rockstar’s official Grand Theft Auto VI materials say the game is set in Vice City and the wider state of Leonida and center on Jason and Lucia. Trailer 1 originally carried a 2025 release frame, while the current official site now promotes the game without a public pre-order link. For this story, the key near-term fact is not a release-date change but the gap between official marketing and retailer preparation. (quiverquant.com) Reports about the Best Buy affiliate email point to physical-edition sales activity, yet Rockstar and Best Buy have not posted a matching public launch page as of May 15. ### What should fans and investors watch next? (rockstargames.com) Take-Two Interactive said on April 23 that it will report fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2026 results after the market close on Thursday, May 21, and hold a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. That gives fans, retailers and investors a named date for the company’s next formal public update. (insider-gaming.com) May 18 is the other date to watch because it is the start of the campaign window shown in the leaked affiliate materials. If Rockstar or Best Buy turns that internal-looking schedule into a public launch, the first visible signs would likely be a trailer post, a store page or a formal announcement from Rockstar Games, Best Buy or Take-Two Interactive. (insider-gaming.com) (take2games.com)