A Best Buy email tied to GTA 6 pre-orders suggests Monday, May 18 activity, but insider discussion points to a later start around July or August. A separate rumor claims Rockstar Games is also avoiding traditional review copies, instead planning a secure play
For millions of GTA 6 fans, Monday was supposed to be the moment the next wave of shopping urgency turned into actual checkout screens. An affiliate Best Buy email circulated around May 18, implying that pre-orders would open on Monday, May 18.
But the excitement hit a pause almost immediately as insider discussion pushed the timeline outward. Tom Henderson said the affiliate email appears legitimate, yet he does not expect anything “tangible” until July or August—specifically pointing to August ahead of the franchise’s next earnings call.
Henderson also stressed that the email’s legitimacy matters: it was sent by Impact. and he described the message as coming from a legitimate sender.. Fans then tried to get confirmation by reaching out to Best Buy and Impact, but neither side provided comment.. Henderson framed the silence as understandable. saying he would not want to speak while Take-Two has legal pressure “breathing down my neck.” He added that it is still unclear whether the email was part of a plan that later shifted or whether it was sent in error despite changes to schedule.
While the pre-order window debate continued. another rumor arrived from a different angle—how the game itself will be shared with the media.. A Brazilian journalist tied to outlets including Omelete and UOL said Rockstar Games would not be sending review copies to journalists or content creators.. Instead. the publisher is said to be preparing a review event designed to prevent leaks. with media sent to a secure location to play GTA 6.
A similar claim surfaced during the same Insider Gaming Weekly conversation. with YouTuber Nukov stating that there would be “no previews of GTA 6. ” “no review copies sent out. ” and “nothing.” He sounded less like someone presenting a confirmed source and more like offering speculation rather than certainty grounded in hard evidence.
Needless to say, that would be inconvenient for publications that rely on review codes ahead of launch. It would also mark a noticeable break from Rockstar’s approach to its 2018 blockbuster Red Dead Redemption 2, when review codes were sent out.
The timing puzzle and the media-access puzzle now sit side by side in the same rumor cycle: an email tied to Impact points at May 18 for pre-orders. yet the discussion narrows expectations to July or August for anything tangible; at the same time. the proposed shift away from review codes would move coverage toward a controlled. secure event rather than early access.
For now. the contradiction is what fans are left holding: an affiliate message suggesting Monday. May 18 activity. paired with insider confidence that the real momentum may not arrive until July or August. and additional reports that the usual route to review coverage—codes shipped to press—may be replaced by a tightly controlled event.
GTA 6 pre-orders Best Buy Impact Tom Henderson review copies leaks Rockstar Games Insider Gaming Weekly Nukov May 18 July August