Rockstar to release the Grand Theft Auto VI soundtrack physically…unlike the game itself. Damn. They really walked into that one.

When Rockstar announced the release of Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album and I saw it was going to be available on CD and vinyl, I just knew the internet was gonna run with the whole ‘The soundtrack will be available disc, but not the game LOOOOOOOL’ schtick, and run with it they indeed did. I’ll admit…I am amused. Sony can’t be surprised at the backlash to their decision to stop producing physical games and Rockstar had to have known that the announcement of Grand Theft Auto VI being digital coming mere days after this announcement was not going to go over well. Given the insane popularity of the GTA franchise and how long-awaited this game is, if there was ever a game that gamers would want to own physically if given the choice, it is Grand Theft Auto VI.

I do get the technical limitations. Grand Theft Auto would probably take up about 12 discs. And given that GTA games are open world, I don’t know how you would even manage the changing discs and what-not. But it is still a shame that it will not be released physically. The sheer size of games is starting to become a problem, which is even affecting Switch 2. A whole bunch o’ Switch 2 games are releasing on game key cards, which are akin to codes in boxes and a waste of plastic. We need to get back to scaling things down. I do think living in this age of everything being in the highest of resolutions and the fourest of K’s has resulted in this lack of file optimisation. Everything is just big, because people want fidelity and everybody has faster Internet, but look at what cost.

HENNYWAY.

Back to the soundtrack.

Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album [Vinyl] | Atlantic Records / Take-Two Interactive

Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album features 34 songs, which is only a fraction of the songs which feature in the game. And all 34 songs on the soundtrack are exclusively for Grand Theft Auto VI. Previous GTA soundtracks have also featured exclusive songs. But given how popular the franchise has become and what a beast GTAVI is going to be, I imagine that artists were scrambling to be a part of the soundtrack. Not just because it’s cool, monumental and is something which will live on forever, even if a career doesn’t. But because the exposure is so insane. GTAVI is probably going to end up being one of the best and fastest selling games of all time. It’s going to have a level of reach that none of the artists on this soundtrack could achieve on their own unless they were Taylor Swift. And even she wouldn’t be able to reach some of the people that a GTA game would reach. Countless gamers have discovered artists through GTA, me included. One of my favourite discoveries was Nite Jewel through Grand Theft Auto V with their song “Nowhere to Go”, which was a song exclusive to the soundtrack.

Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album [CD] | Atlantic Records / Take-Two Interactive

I don’t have a PS5 or an Xbox Series, so I won’t be playing Grand Theft Auto VI. But I will check out the soundtrack when it releases on 19th November — the same day as the game. And I will be on the lookout for the full list of songs featured in the game and on its radio stations. One thing about GTA games, they always feature a great selection of songs. Every now and then I’ll think about the song selections in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.