GTA 6 pre-orders are live — what's actually worth buying with it

GTA 6 pre-orders opening triggered the predictable rush of accessory upsells. Most of them you don't need. A handful — controller, headset, external SSD, a comfortable chair — make the difference between playing 8 hours and playing 3 before your wrist starts complaining. Here's the short list.

I've pre-ordered the Standard Edition. The Special and Collector's editions are mostly digital cosmetics with one physical extra each. If you want the Collector's edition for the steelbook, fine, but don't pay $100 over Standard for in-game currency you'll earn in week one anyway.

Who needs accessories — and who can skip the upsell

If you already game weekly on a PS5 or Xbox Series X with a 1TB internal SSD and a decent headset, you can probably skip every recommendation below. GTA 6's specs aren't different enough from GTA 5 Online to demand new hardware. If you play once a month, same thing — accessory budget should go toward the next game, not this one.

The case for spending: you're a daily player, you stream or record, or you're switching consoles for GTA 6 specifically. In those cases, three things genuinely matter — storage, controller comfort, and audio. Everything else is marketing.

Storage: the only accessory you'll regret skipping

GTA 6 install size is rumoured to be 150 GB+. PS5 base storage after the OS is around 660 GB. If you've got Spider-Man 2, Helldivers 2, and a few Call of Duty installs, you've already eaten that. A Samsung 990 Pro 2TB with heatsink runs $130-170 and slots into the PS5's expansion bay in five minutes with a screwdriver.

For Xbox Series X, the official Seagate Storage Expansion Card is the only consumer option — annoying but mandatory. A Seagate Expansion Card 2TB is around $290. Don't buy a USB external as your primary storage on Xbox — current-gen games won't run from USB on Series X/S.

On PC: any Crucial T705 2TB NVMe or Samsung/WD equivalent will work. Stay above 6,000 MB/s read speed if your motherboard supports PCIe Gen 4. Slower drives will technically work but you'll notice longer load screens.

Controllers: where to spend if you play 30+ hours/week

The PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers are fine for casual play. For heavy use — anything past 20 hours/week — controller drift becomes a real issue with both stock controllers, usually around month 8. Hall-effect controllers (Sony's Edge, Microsoft's Elite Series 2 Core, or a third-party like the GameSir Nova Lite) solve drift entirely with magnetic sensors. They cost $40-200 depending on the brand.

For GTA 6 specifically, paddle buttons matter. The driving and shooting controls let you remap to back paddles, which means you don't have to take your thumbs off the sticks to jump, brake, or change weapon. The Scuf Reflex Pro or the official DualSense Edge both add paddles. The Edge is $200 but you can swap stick modules when they wear out.

On a budget, the 8BitDo Ultimate at $70 has Hall-effect sticks AND remappable buttons. Not as polished as the Edge but two-thirds cheaper, and the drift protection alone justifies the price.

Audio: the upgrade most players underestimate

GTA 6's sound design is going to be a marketing point — Rockstar always invests heavily there. Built-in TV speakers will lose most of it. A budget headset like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 or the Razer BlackShark V2 X handles the basics. For wireless, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 and the Sony Pulse Elite are both under $200 with decent battery life.

If you stream or do voice chat seriously, separate the headphones from the mic. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x ($150) paired with a FiFine K688 USB mic ($60) sounds better than any all-in-one gaming headset at the same total price. Downside: more cables and a desk that holds a microphone.

For surround sound without a headset, a soundbar with subwoofer under $400 (Vizio M-Series or Samsung HW-Q60C) handles GTA's atmospheric audio adequately. Most TV-only setups undersell the explosions and ambient city soundscape that's a Rockstar signature.

Chair and posture: the long-term play

If you're going to spend 100+ hours in GTA 6's first month, the chair matters more than the controller. A Secretlab Titan Evo runs $500-650 and lasts a decade if you size it right. A standard $200 office chair with proper lumbar support is honestly better than a $350 gaming chair with foam wings.

Add a silicone wrist rest if you're on PC. Carpal tunnel from repetitive controller movement is real. The $20 ones are insurance worth taking. If your back already hurts from an old chair, see road-trip fatigue habits — many of the same principles apply to long gaming sessions.

What to skip entirely

GTA 6 themed branded controllers. Same internals as the standard pad with a paint job, $30-50 more. Pass.

Pre-order in-game currency. Rockstar Online's economy has historically rewarded grinding over spending. The Shark Cards in GTA 5 were skip-worthy for anyone playing more than 10 hours. Buy the game, play it, then decide if you actually need the currency a month in. You probably won't.

Capture cards, unless you actually stream or upload. If you're just sharing clips with friends, the PS5 and Xbox share buttons handle it. A $150 Elgato is wasted budget if your audience is your group chat.

Last thought: GTA 6 will run fine on launch-day hardware for most players. The accessories above are quality-of-life upgrades that pay off across many games, not GTA-specific must-haves. Spend on the SSD if you must spend on one thing.