GTA 6 Editions Compared: Is The Ultimate Edition Actually Worth It?

Since it's quite easily one of the most anticipated games of all time — if not the single most anticipated one — gamers are yearning to know everything about "Grand Theft Auto VI" before the game drops on November 19. One of the first things to know, of course, is which version of the game you should buy in the first place: regular "GTA VI" or the Ultimate Edition? 

The regular edition of the game will set you back $80, and it will contain, well, the game. However, the Ultimate Edition, which is prized at $100, will have a fair number of extras, some of which will be somewhat controversial. Apart from the usual visual frills like extra costumes, hairstyles, and cars, the Ultimate Edition will feature extra story content and locations. While none of them actually influence the main story of the game, they're still enough for a dedicated fan to potentially consider parting with that extra $20. 

So, what will you get if you decide to vault over that Ultimate Edition paywall? Quite a lot, in fact. The Ultimate Edition will give the player access to five different exclusive vehicles and multiple handguns, along with a number of vehicle upgrades, customization options, and apparel for protagonists Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval. The thing that has been ruffling the fandom's feathers is that the edition also features several locations that aren't available in the baseline game, such as a salon, a special garage, and a tattoo studio — not to mention a series of exclusive car restoration missions.  

So, that's what the Ultimate Edition brings to the table. The question is whether that's enough. If you want to just explore Rockstar Games' massive Leonida and experience the story as the studio intended, the good news is that nothing in the Ultimate Edition will actually impact the experience all that much. While the pricier "GTA VI" option will include plenty of cool extra frills, much of it amounts to little more than set dressing. As such, the Ultimate Edition is by no means a must-have purchase, unless you're a completionist, a collector, or a hardline GTA aficionado of some other flavor. 

If you are any of the above, though, the Ultimate Edition just might be worth it for those aforementioned extra missions and locations. If those are important to you, the extra $20 may turn out to be a solid investment, especially if you intend to sink countless hours into the game. At that point, the variety that the Ultimate Edition offers may indeed turn out to be the spice of life. 

The fact remains that the Ultimate Edition is a far cry from the glorious "Grand Theft Auto V" Collector's Edition and its smorgasbord of in-game extras and physical merch. Its very existence implies that even more "GTA VI" editions might be arriving somewhere down the line. For now, Rockstar has mercifully saved us from choice overload by offering just two versions of the game — that is, unless you include the so-called physical edition of "GTA VI," which doesn't contain an actual disk.