Video Games Plus says it will not carry code-only copies
On Wednesday, Video Games Plus, a North American retailer that has been operating for more than 30 years, said it will maintain its existing policy against selling console products that contain only a digital code.
“For nearly 40 years, VGP has been committed to supporting physical media and preserving the value of physical game ownership,” the company wrote in a statement on X. “As part of that commitment, our company policy is that we do not carry physical products for video game consoles that contain only a digital download code. Based on the information currently available, the physical release of Grand Theft Auto VI for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X is expected to be a code-in-box product. As a result, VGP will not be offering it for sale under our current company policy.”
The company stressed that the decision was not meant as a criticism of Rockstar or the game itself. VGP said it has “tremendous respect for Rockstar Games and the incredible achievement that Grand Theft Auto VI represents.”
For now, though, the retailer says it will not sell the game online or in its Canadian stores. It left the door open for a different version later, adding: “Should Rockstar one day release a physical edition containing a disc in the box, we would be pleased to carry and support that version for our customers.”
Loot Box Gaming takes the same position
Loot Box Gaming, another retailer focused on physical games, also said it would decline to sell GTA 6 at launch if the boxed version does not include a disc.
“We’re closely following the GTA 6 physical release situation over the next 24 hours. We’ve yet to receive full details on our end, but assuming information about it being a code in a box is true, we will not be supporting the release of GTA 6,” the company said.
Loot Box Gaming framed its position around the purpose of the business itself. “When we started LBG, it was out of a love for our favorite form of media, gaming, as well as the preservation of said media,” it continued. “If a product can’t honor the people who pay their hard-earned money to purchase it, then we have no business trying to sell it to our customers whom we value above anything else.”
The retailer is not pretending this will derail Rockstar’s launch. After someone pointed out that a small shop refusing to stock GTA 6 would not meaningfully affect sales, Loot Box Gaming said that was not the goal.
“We hope GTA 6 has immense success & pans out to be the biggest game of all time, as it’s been hyped up to be, but we can’t go against our business practices in the process either,” the company said.
The dispute is bigger than one blockbuster
The financial impact on Rockstar is likely to be tiny. Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be massive regardless of whether a few specialist shops sit it out. But the reaction shows how tense the industry’s move away from discs has become.
For publishers, digital-first releases offer control, security, and fewer used-game complications. For some players and retailers, they raise a basic question: if a boxed game does not contain the game, what exactly is being sold?
That question has been around for years, but GTA 6 puts it under a brighter light because of the scale of the launch. A smaller title can make this kind of decision and pass quietly. Rockstar cannot. When one of gaming’s largest franchises treats the disc as optional, physical-media supporters notice.
At launch in November, most buyers will probably go wherever GTA 6 is available and download it without much ceremony. But for retailers like Video Games Plus and Loot Box Gaming, the issue is less about one sale and more about drawing a line around what physical ownership is supposed to mean.
