Standard or Ultimate? How to pick the right GTA VI edition

The gap between the Standard and Ultimate editions of GTA VI is 20 dollars, or roughly 2,800 krónur. The question is whether that money buys you anything that matters. The short answer, for most people: no. The longer answer is worth reading before you click.

The confirmed prices: Standard costs 79.99 dollars, 69.99 pounds or 79.99 euros. Ultimate costs 99.99 dollars, 89.99 pounds or 99.99 euros. In Iceland, ELKO is taking pre-orders for the PS5 Standard Edition at 10,995 ISK. Ultimate, however, is digital only, which means the Icelandic PlayStation Store at 99.99 euros — around 14,100 ISK at mid-market, and more once your card issuer's foreign transaction fee lands.

What they share: both editions contain exactly the same game. The whole story, the whole map, every character, all of it. No story content is locked behind Ultimate. That is not a given in 2026, and Rockstar deserves credit for it.

Both also include the pre-order bonus: the Vintage Vice City Pack, which comes with any purchase made before 20 November, plus one free month of GTA+. The Vintage pack contains a ´55 Vapid Stanier and the Shore Court Garage, two luxury outfits each for Jason and Lucia, and a weapon pattern inspired by Tommy Vercetti.

What Ultimate adds: almost entirely cosmetics and convenience. A ´95 Grotti Cheetah, Hawk & Little Morgan revolvers, personalised weapon finishes, Vice City style clothing, Jason's safehouse vehicles, the Ganado Retro Build, a ´67 Vapid Dominator Buggy, a Shitzu Squalo boat, a classic car collection, and access to the Rideout Customs and One-Eyed Willie's mod shops, Sara's salon, the Electric Fang tattoo parlour, the Stock 305 clothing store, Goodtime Gear and the PTT Youngin$ store. Clothes, cars, gun skins and shops.

When is Ultimate worth it? In three cases. One: if you know you will play heavily and would rather not buy this piecemeal later, which is a common Rockstar pattern. Two: if you collect vehicles and enjoy exclusive ones — six vehicles plus a car collection is real content. Three: if you were going to subscribe to GTA+ anyway, though the free month comes with both editions on pre-order.

When should you skip it? If you are buying the game to play the story once and move on. Then every króna above Standard is waste. The same applies if you are not yet sure you will even like it.

Worth noting: Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told CNBC in August that Ultimate is outselling Standard. That says more about anticipation than about the pack's actual value — people are buying the expensive edition out of excitement, not from a considered reading of what is in it.

The practical detail most people miss: you can upgrade from Standard to Ultimate at any time through the PlayStation or Xbox store, per Rockstar's support documentation. That makes the sensible route for most buyers obvious — buy Standard now, play the game, and upgrade later if you find yourself wanting the cars. You lose nothing by waiting.

One more thing for Icelandic buyers: Standard is available boxed at ELKO for 10,995 ISK, which is cheaper than 79.99 euros in the digital store. Ultimate is not sold boxed at all. So if price matters to you, the Icelandic retail Standard copy is simply the best option — and you can upgrade from there later if you change your mind.

Remember too that the box contains a download code, not a disc. Rockstar has confirmed that no edition of the game ships on a disc.

Sources: Rockstar Games' official GTA VI editions page, Rockstar Support, TheSixthAxis, TechRadar, PC Games Hardware, CNBC and elko.is.