Few days before Grand Theft Auto VI unlocks, PlayStation 5 buyers have a new worry. Reports circulating on Reddit, ResetEra and X claim that shining a strong flashlight into the side of a sealed GTA 6 PS5 case can light up the download code inside clearly enough to read it.
The concern comes from how the game is sold. GTA VI’s boxed PS5 edition has no disc, only a code printed on an insert, so the retail box works as a physical voucher for a digital purchase. If someone could read that code without opening the shrink-wrap, they could in principle redeem it before the real buyer gets home. One early Reddit post also claimed that some sealed copies arrived with codes already used, though nobody has verified that.
So far the evidence is weak. Packaging seems to make a big difference. US copies print a camouflage pattern around the code, so even if light gets into the case, the characters stay hard to make out. Some copies carrying the European PEGI rating reportedly have only a plain black strip behind the code, and that’s the version people say could be at risk. Players also disagree on whether the poster insert blocks enough light, and some argue the image that went viral was edited to make the code look clearer than it is. In France, codes are reportedly printed in dark grey on black, which makes them harder to read.
Hands-on tests haven’t backed up the scare. Attempts on one US and one UK PS5 copy both failed, and there are no confirmed reports of anyone losing a code this way. The theft scenario also takes a lot of work: buying the game or getting past locked display cases, hoping you have the right packaging, using an unusually powerful light and then returning the copy for a refund. It’s also unclear whether a code that hasn’t been scanned at the till would redeem at all.
Rockstar hasn’t commented, and questions to Take-Two about the packaging haven’t been answered publicly.
For anyone who already has a copy, it’s worth checking the panel behind the code and redeeming it promptly. Code-in-box copies can’t be played until 19 November, when GTA VI unlocks on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Pre-loading opened on 10 November with a download of up to 212 GB, and update 1.002.000 has to be installed before launch.
Even if this turns out to be mostly internet panic, it shows a real weakness in disc-free retail editions. When the box contains only a code, the packaging becomes the only security, and publishers may need to take that more seriously.