If you have been meaning to catch up on the older Grand Theft Auto games before Grand Theft Auto VI arrives, Rockstar Games has just made that considerably cheaper. A wave of discounts has landed across Steam, the Xbox Store and the PlayStation Store, and several of them are the lowest prices these games have ever hit.
Those are strong prices, especially Grand Theft Auto IV at under $7, the cheapest it has gone on a platform where it arguably plays as best.
Now, why is all of this happening right now? The obvious answer is that these are summer sales. The Xbox Ultimate Game Sale is running through July 29 with thousands of titles discounted, Steam has its seasonal promotions, and Rockstar titles are simply part of those broader events. Also, discounting your entire back catalogue in the final stretch before your biggest ever release isn't a bad idea.
Think about it. Someone who has never played a GTA game buys Grand Theft Auto V for $15, enjoys it, and before you know it, they're dropping cash on a new console and pre-ordering GTA 6 at full price. Rockstar is simply running one of the oldest tricks in entertainment at the best time, especially with Take-Two Interactive set to hold its next earnings call soon.
The GTA Back Catalogue Deals
| Game | Platform | Price | Discount | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced | Steam | $14.99 | 50 percent off, record low | July 28 |
Grand Theft Auto V Story Mode | Xbox Store | $9.99 | 50 percent off, record low | July 30 |
Grand Theft Auto IV | Xbox Store | $6.99 | 65 percent off, record low | July 30 |
Grand Theft Auto IV add-ons | Xbox Store | $4.99 each | 50 percent off | July 30 |
The Trilogy Definitive Edition | PlayStation and Xbox | Around $19.79 | Around 67 percent off | July 30 |
Confirmed Grand Theft Auto discounts across digital storefronts as of July 27.
So which of these are actually worth your time while you wait? The no-brainer is GTA 4 at its price. It is widely considered the high point of the series for its story and its darker, heavier tone, and it is the game whose main character fans keep hoping returns in some form. The caveat is that it is genuinely awkward to run well on modern hardware, and its licensed soundtrack has eroded over the years as music rights expired, so parts of it are not quite the game it was in 2008. However, the price is on the Xbox, and it's generally considered the better platform to enjoy this game on.
GTA V Enhanced at $15 is another safe pick. It runs beautifully, it is the most direct preview of what GTA 6 will feel like moment to moment, and if you somehow have not played it, this is the version to get. It is also the gateway to the enormous online mode and to the roleplay community that has kept it alive for over a decade.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition at $20 isn't as straightforward. These are the remasters of the older classics, and they launched in famously poor shape before a long run of patches made them respectable. They are a fine way to experience the older games if you never did, but they are not the definitive way to play them that the name promises, and the modding community has arguably done more interesting things with the originals than the official remasters did.
Unfortunately, there are no equivalent deals on the Nintendo eShop.
What a Pre-Launch Catalogue Sale Actually Does
| The Move | The Payoff |
|---|---|
Cheap older games pull in curious new players | Those players arrive primed to buy GTA 6 at full price |
Lapsed fans reinstall and get hooked again | Re-engaged players are far likelier to pre-order |
The franchise stays visible during a quiet stretch | Keeps GTA in the conversation while Rockstar shows nothing new |
Old games sell for a few dollars each | Small revenue now, funnel toward an $80 sale later |
The logic behind discounting older Grand Theft Auto games shortly before Grand Theft Auto VI launches.
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If you were going to buy any of these games anyway, buying them now during a record-low sale is smart, and there is no downside. The only trap is buying games you will not actually play because the price feels too good to pass up. Buy only one or two you will genuinely sink time into before November. If the real goal is just to have something to play while the wait drags on, you do not need all of them.
Pick Los Santos and GTA V if you want the closest preview of what is coming, or Niko Bellic and Liberty City if you want the series at its most ambitious and do not mind some rough edges.
Either will comfortably fill the months between now and launch, at a price that would not have got you a single mission's worth of in-game currency in most modern games.