Rockstar Games will sell a 34-track album on physical formats on the same day it releases a video game fans cannot buy on disc.
Rockstar Games, the developer behind the Grand Theft Auto series, has announced a 34-track soundtrack album for Grand Theft Auto 6 that will be sold on CD and vinyl on the same day the game itself launches.
That detail has restarted an argument among fans. The game is being released digitally only, with no disc version, yet the music from it is getting a physical edition. Some players have called the situation ironic.
GTA 6 is scheduled for release on 19 November and is expected to be one of the largest entertainment launches ever recorded.
Who is on the album
Rockstar says the compilation features original music from what it described as a "genre-defying roster of the most exciting artists in the world".
The names announced include American rapper Travis Scott, country singer Morgan Wallen and British singer PinkPantheress. The first six tracks published at the announcement also feature rapper Yung Lean, British DJ Fred Again and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
Grand Theft Auto games are known for their in-game radio stations, which players switch between while driving. Each station usually carries a musical theme. In past titles the music has mostly been licensed from established artists, though original songs have appeared too. Rockstar says GTA 6 will have a "dynamic score" and what it calls an evolution of the in-game radio.
Why artists want in
Being featured in a GTA game can move an artist's numbers dramatically, including for songs recorded decades ago.
After the first GTA 6 trailer used Tom Petty's "Love is a Long Road", Spotify streams of the song rose by 36,979 percent. "Hot Together" by the Pointer Sisters also jumped sharply after appearing in the second trailer.
The music and gaming publication MusicEXP tracked what happened after an "Extended Look" at the game premiered on Netflix. It reported that Captain & Tennille's 1980 song "But I Think It's a Dream" went from 70 Spotify streams in a week to 80,744. Cliff Richard's "Devil Woman" passed a million streams, and Prefab Sprout's "Cars and Girls" moved from about 49,000 to 187,000 additional weekly streams. Activity on the song-identification app Shazam also rose around tracks used in the 26-minute broadcast.
Not every artist is interested. Martyn Ware of the synth pop band Heaven 17 publicly criticised Rockstar on social media, saying the offer to license the band's 1983 hit "Temptation" was "pitiful".
The bigger picture
GTA 5, released in 2013, has sold more than 200 million copies. The two official trailers for GTA 6 have close to 500 million combined views on YouTube, and the Netflix extended look topped the platform's charts despite leaks beforehand.
Separately, Rockstar is defending itself at an employment tribunal in Scotland against claims that it unlawfully dismissed a group of former staff for attempting to form a union. The company strongly rejects the allegation and says the workers were sacked for gross misconduct.
Reported first by MyJoyOnline on 2026-09-17. This article was written for our readers based on that report. Follow the link for the original coverage.
