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  1. Games
  2. Action Games
  3. Grand Theft Auto
  4. GTA 6

GTA 6 fans begin pre-order countdown after Best Buy email reveals it starts today, but a "verified" source just popped up to say it was an accident: "One ticket to Arkham asylum please"

News
By Ashley Bardhan published 18 May 2026

The hopium wells are running dry…

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Lucia leaves prison in GTA 6 trailer 2
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
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Like a lot of lost souls, I was convinced GTA 6 pre-orders would go live today, as suggested by a rogue Best Buy email last week notifying affiliates that game pre-orders would begin May 18. But the day has arrived, and as fans are getting uncomfortably used to, our chance of a GTA 6 update is looking thin.

Those Best Buy emails reportedly told affiliates the store was running a pre-order campaign through May 21, and they could earn 5% on online sales of GTA 6's physical edition pre-order. Sounds allegedly promising, right? People started guzzling hopium like it was the first cold glass of water they ever tasted, but an apparent industry insider says GTA 6 fans should put down the cup.

Instead, pull the lawn chair out and start waiting. Again. GTAForums member Graczdari_91 says in a thread about the supposed Best Buy leak, "I don't want to disappoint anyone, but internal company emails suggest that Best Buy has got it wrong and no pre-orders will be launching today. Things might change at the last minute, but I'd advise keeping your expectations in check."

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GTA 6

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

GTA 6 fans are so vulnerable right now – Rockstar didn't receive any divine inspiration to be gregarious and drop Trailer 3 last week like they expected – so this single message was enough to obliterate pre-order hopes like pesticide. Looking at the way people are speaking in a popular Reddit thread discussing the forum post, you'd think Rockstar announced plans to initiate the Rapture. But no one died – just GTA 6 fans' remaining shreds of sanity.

"Today is gonna be a funeral," agrees one reply.

"One ticket to Arkham asylum please," another fan politely requests. GTA 6 hopefuls are also noting parent company Take-Two's stock prices started blasting off after the Best Buy email went out, going from a low of $222.80 on May 13 to a peak of $245.86 on May 15… and now that share price is steadily slipping the more GTA 6 pre-orders stall.

"MY TTWO SHARES," cries another Reddit commenter who I'm sure has already suffered enough.

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A GTAForums admin claims they've seen the internal communication from Graczdari_91, who apparently works for a European distribution company, and it's true that "BestBuy made a mistake." We'll know for sure eventually, as time in the day keeps ticking, and GTA 6 fan tears begin to resupply the ocean.

GTA 6 hype hits all-time high as fans find more evidence pre-orders start today, but some have been burned too many times to believe it: "Better to be safe than sorry with Rockstar."

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Ashley Bardhan
Ashley Bardhan
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Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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