This Week in Gaming: GTA 6 Gets Expensive, PlayStation Plus Gets Bigger & Mafia Returns
Another week, another excuse to ignore the backlog.
This week has brought some seriously interesting gaming news, from GTA 6's increasingly expensive editions to a huge PlayStation Plus update, a new Mafia story, and plenty of reasons to stay indoors with a controller.
Here's what the gaming world has been talking about this week.
🎮 GTA 6: £69.99 Is the New Starting Point
Let's start with the obvious one.
Grand Theft Auto VI is officially getting expensive.
Take-Two has confirmed an $80 standard edition, with the Ultimate Edition priced at $100 in the US. UK pricing is listed at £69.99 for Standard and £89.99 for Ultimate. GTA 6 is still scheduled to launch on 19 November 2026 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
And apparently gamers aren't running away from the price.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says GTA 6 pre-orders have been exceptionally strong, with reports indicating particularly strong demand for the more expensive Ultimate Edition.
£90 for a game.
At this point, GTA 6 better come with a mortgage advisor.
📺 GTA 6 Is Getting Another Look
If waiting for GTA 6 wasn't already painful enough, Rockstar has another treat coming.
GTA VI: An Extended Look is scheduled to premiere on 27 August on Netflix and YouTube, giving players another look at Rockstar's long-awaited return to Vice City.
So, yes.
We're all going to spend the next two weeks pretending we're not counting down the days.
🧟 PlayStation Plus Has Had a Pretty Good Week
PlayStation Plus subscribers have received a serious injection of games this month.
The August Game Catalog includes Helldivers 2, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Vampire Survivors, Hell Is Us and more.
And there's more happening with Helldivers 2, which has joined the Game Catalog alongside its new Devoid of Liberty update. The update sends players into the Illuminate Void to deal with some suitably unpleasant mutant threats.
Basically:
Democracy isn't going to spread itself.
🔫 Mafia: The Old Country Gets New Story DLC
Fancy something a little more old-school?
Mafia: The Old Country – Man of Honor is out now.
The $10 story expansion adds two new chapters and extra Free Ride content, continuing Enzo Favara's story while bringing back a familiar name from the original Mafia: Don Salieri. It's available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
And if you've somehow avoided the Mafia games altogether, the Mafia: The Omerta Collection is also launching this week, bringing the modern Mafia releases together on current platforms.
More crime.
More guns.
More reasons to tell yourself you're only going to play for an hour.
🥽 VR Gaming Is Getting Weird Again
The August VR Games Showcase happened this week, bringing a pile of new announcements and trailers for virtual reality games.
The showcase featured announcements across the VR space, giving players plenty of new projects to keep an eye on.
VR gaming still feels like the slightly unhinged corner of the gaming industry.
And honestly?
We wouldn't have it any other way.
🧠 Gamers Are Going Backwards, And Loving It
Something else caught our attention this week: nostalgia gaming is having a serious moment.
Players are increasingly returning to older games and familiar "comfort games", while remakes and modern re-releases continue bringing classic experiences back to new hardware.
And we get it.
Sometimes you don't want to learn 47 new systems, memorize 16 character classes and read a 900-page wiki just to understand the opening cutscene.
Sometimes you just want to boot up a game you already know.
No tutorials.
No stress.
Just:
New Game → Continue → Absolute nostalgia.
🕹️ What We're Watching
With GTA 6 still scheduled for November, the next few months are looking seriously stacked.
And that's before we get into everything else arriving later this year.
So if you've been saying:
"I'm going to finish my backlog before buying another game."
We have some bad news.
Your backlog isn't getting finished.
It's evolving.
🎯 Alt n Vibe Question of the Week
Let's settle an important debate.
Would you pay £89.99 for the GTA 6 Ultimate Edition?
🔥 Absolutely. It's GTA 6.
💀 £90?! I'll wait for a sale.
💿 I'm still waiting for the physical edition.
☠️ My backlog is already judging me.
Whatever you're playing this week, enjoy the escape.
And remember:
One more game is never one more game.
This article was updated 14 August 2026 with the latest available gaming news.
