So, now that we have pricing down, is buying this version worth it? The retail version is a pretty decent deal, though we wouldn't call it a 'must buy'. The fact that GTA 5 retained full retail price for over 4 years is a feat on its own, so it was about time for this price-reduction to roll around. Not as a temporary discount, but permanently. Even though prices will vary retailer to retailer, the majority of them took on the Premium Online Edition as a replacement product, stocking it for the standard AAA price of $59.99, and bumping standard GTA 5 down to $29.99. Now, in retail, things look a whole lot different.

Digital games should be universally cheaper than physical versions because, with a digital game, technically you don't 'own' the game but own a license to it, and even though Steam allegedly has safeguards in place to prevent people losing those games if Valve ever goes under, this is still a looser definition of ownership than having a physical copy.Īdditionally, cheaper digital games would promote a more environmentally friendly approach, as that would mean fewer cases and discs becoming waste. It also shows that PC users are getting shafted across the board, which is probably why grey-market key selling is a burgeoning business.Īdditionally, this also indicates that if you want to buy the game digitally, you'll be doing so at a significant markup over retail prices - which is really unfortunate. This shows that, if you want to purchase the game digitally through first-party sources (thus avoiding key-selling sites where it might be cheaper), getting it straight from the Rockstar Warehouse is the best option. The Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack, on its own as DLC for a copy of GTA 5 you already own, is $ 44.99 everywhere. On digital platforms, the Premium Online Edition/Standard Edition price is as follows:

So, if you're a new player, or someone who hasn't upgraded in the past, is the Premium Online Edition a good (re)entry point? The first thing we need to look at is pricing.

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