Two Canadian retailers, Video Games Plus (VGP) and Loot Box Gaming (LBG), say they won’t stock Grand Theft Auto VI unless Rockstar and Take-Two release a version with an actual disc inside the box.
The stores are reacting to reports suggesting that the retail edition of GTA 6 could ship as a code-in-box product. That means a normal-looking game case on the shelf, but instead of a disc, buyers get a paper slip with a download code tied to their account.
The complaint is simple. A disc-based game, even one that needs a massive download and a day-one patch, still works as a transferable license. You can resell it, trade it in, lend it to a friend, or stick it on a shelf years later. A redeemed code does none of that. Once it’s scratched off and entered, the box is essentially trash and the game lives on the buyer’s digital account forever.
For stores built around used games, trade-ins, and collector culture, stocking a code-in-box version of one of the biggest releases in history would directly undercut their entire business model.
Why Rockstar might ditch the disc
There’s no official word from Rockstar or Take-Two on the final retail format. Industry watchers have floated a few theories: Code-in-box releases make it harder for copies to leak before launch, they kill the used-game market, they avoid the headache of shipping a game that might not fit on a single Blu-ray, and they push every sale through digital storefronts.
Realistically, two independent shops sitting out launch day won’t dent sales of a game expected to break every record on the books. Walmart, Amazon, GameStop, the PlayStation Store, and the Microsoft Store will move millions of copies regardless. But VGP and LBG appear willing to skip the payday rather than stock something that clashes with what their stores stand for.
