The Cheapest Way to Play GTA 6 Just Got $100 More Expensive
GTA 6 needs a current-gen console, and the cheapest one just got pricier. Xbox raised prices right after preorders opened, pushing the Series S up $100. Here is what it now costs to play GTA 6 the cheap way.
There is a hidden cost to GTA 6 that has nothing to do with the game's $80 sticker. Because GTA 6 skips last-gen hardware, anyone still on a PS4 or Xbox One has to buy a current-generation console to play it, and the cheapest way in just got $100 more expensive. Days after preorders went live, Xbox raised the price of every current console, including the budget Series S that was the lowest-cost path to GTA 6. Here is exactly what changed, what it costs now, and whether you should buy before the increase hits.
What changed: the Xbox price hike
On June 25, one day after GTA 6 preorders opened, Microsoft announced a worldwide Xbox price increase taking effect August 1, 2026. The increases are steep:
- 512GB models go up $100
- 1TB models go up $150
- The 2TB model is discontinued
That pushes the entire Xbox lineup to new highs:
- Xbox Series S (512GB): $499.99 (up from $399.99)
- Xbox Series S (1TB): $599.99
- Xbox Series X (Digital, 1TB): $749.99
- Xbox Series X (Disc, 1TB): $799.99
Microsoft blamed rising costs, pointing to console storage and memory prices climbing more than 2.5 times, with another jump expected by 2027. This is also not a one-off. It is the third Xbox price increase in roughly a year.
Why this hits GTA 6 buyers specifically
Here is the part that stings. GTA 6 launches November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only, with no PC version and no PS4 or Xbox One support at launch. If you are on last-gen hardware, you cannot just buy the game. You have to buy a new console too.
The cheapest console that runs GTA 6 has been the Xbox Series S, and it is exactly the model taking a $100 hit. The lowest-cost ticket to GTA 6 was $399.99 for a Series S. After August 1, that floor rises to $499.99. The single most affordable way to play the biggest game of the generation just got a hundred dollars pricier overnight.
The new cheapest-to-play math
Add the game and the picture is clear. To play GTA 6 the cheapest way after August 1:
- Xbox Series S (512GB): $499.99, plus the $79.99 Standard Edition = about $580 all in.
That is the budget route, and it is worth knowing the Series S is the least powerful of the four GTA 6 machines, so it will run the game at lower settings than its pricier siblings. We broke down every option in our PS5 or Xbox buyer's guide.
How PlayStation compares
PlayStation is not innocent here either. Sony raised PS5 prices back in April 2026, so the current lineup is $599.99 for the PS5 Digital Edition, $649.99 for the disc model, and $899.99 for the PS5 Pro.
The hikes reshape the value picture. At the high end, the gap flipped: after August 1, the disc-based Xbox Series X ($799.99) costs $150 more than the disc-based PS5 ($649.99). At the low end, though, the Xbox Series S at $499.99 is still the single cheapest console that plays GTA 6, just no longer the bargain it was. We compared the platforms in detail in our PS5 vs Xbox preorder breakdown.
Should you buy now or wait?
If you need a console specifically for GTA 6 and you want the cheapest one, the math is simple: buy a Series S before August 1 to save the $100. The increase is a hard date, so a purchase made in July costs $399.99 and the same console in August costs $499.99.
There is also a longer-term warning baked in. Microsoft openly expects component costs to keep rising, which means further increases are possible before GTA 6 even launches in November. Waiting is unlikely to make consoles cheaper. If anything, the pressure points up. For most last-gen holdouts, locking in a console sooner rather than later is the safer financial move, whether that is a pre-August Series S or a PS5 while current prices hold.
The bottom line
GTA 6 itself did not get more expensive, but playing it did. With GTA 6 locked to current-gen consoles and Xbox raising prices days after preorders, the cheapest entry point, the Series S, jumped from $399.99 to $499.99. Stack the $79.99 game on top and the budget cost of joining GTA 6 at launch is now around $580. The clock matters: the Xbox increase lands August 1, so if cost is your deciding factor, the cheapest version of this decision is the one you make before then.
