November is shaping up to be a bloodbath at the checkout counter.
With GTA 6 locked in as a current-gen exclusive, millions of players who’ve been holding off on upgrading their hardware are finally being forced to make a move. The problem? There may not be enough consoles waiting for them when they get there.
A games buyer for a major retailer, speaking anonymously to The Game Business, put it plainly: “We’ve been informed that because of the ongoing issues around hardware component availability, we won’t be getting the units we want ahead of GTA. Demand will likely outstrip supply during the year-end period.”
That’s a significant warning — and one worth taking seriously.
Who’s Actually Buying Consoles Right Now?
It’s easy to assume that anyone who wanted a PS5 or Xbox Series console already has one. And for the most part, that’s true — early adopters, dedicated gamers, and hardware enthusiasts have long since made the jump.
But there’s another type of player that often gets overlooked: the so-called “normie” gamer. These are people with dusty previous-gen consoles sitting in entertainment units, untouched for months or years, waiting for one specific game to make the upgrade worth it. For a huge chunk of that crowd, GTA 6 is that game. When November rolls around and they all show up at once looking for hardware, the shelves may have very little to offer them.
The Price Problem Isn’t Going Away Either
Even for those lucky enough to find a console in stock, sticker shock is coming. Both Sony and Microsoft have raised hardware prices multiple times in recent months, driven by ongoing chip shortages and the ripple effects of the Trump administration’s tariff campaign. Xbox hiked its prices last October and is set to do so again in August. PlayStation followed suit last year and raised prices again this April.
And there’s no guarantee either company stops there. With GTA 6 demand set to spike in the final months of the year, manufacturers have every incentive to keep prices elevated — or push them even higher — for consumers who have no choice but to pay up.
The Bottom Line: Don’t Wait
If you’re planning to grab a PS5 or Xbox Series console before GTA 6 drops, the time to act is now — not October, not September, now. Supply is already constrained, prices are already climbing, and both of those trends are only going in one direction.
If you can find a refurbished unit, even better. The console you buy today will play the same game as one bought at launch-week premium prices in November — assuming you can even find one by then.
