How Much of Your Work Week Will It Take to Buy GTA VI?


Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) is shaping up to be one of the most lucrative media launches of all time, based on the hype and anticipation surrounding its November 19, 2026 release. The game will launch with two digital SKUs, with the Standard edition priced at $79.99 USD ($109.99 CAD) and the Ultimate edition at $99.99 USD ($139.99 CAD). Sadly, no physical disc is expected in 2026, nor has one been announced. GTA VI will launch on both PS5 and Xbox at the same cost, with no Switch 2 or PC releases announced for the time being.

But how much of your work week will it actually take to buy GTA VI, and what does that price mean for the average consumer?

Based on the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average hourly wage is approximately $37.75, while the average minimum wage across the states is approximately $11.49 per hour. At the average wage, it would take approximately 2 hours and 7 minutes of work to earn enough to purchase the $79.99 Standard edition of GTA VI before taxes. At the average minimum wage, that jumps to approximately 7 hours.

In Canada, based on figures from Workforce.com, the average hourly wage works out to approximately $37.20. At that rate, it would take approximately 2 hours and 57 minutes to earn the $109.99 standard edition, or about 7.4% of a 40-hour work week. At the Canadian average minimum wage of $16.92 per hour, it would take approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes, or 16.25% of a 40-hour work week.

To calculate these hourly averages, I averaged the available wage figures across all states and provinces. As a result, the numbers may differ from the wages you receive or are familiar with in your particular state or province.

Even with the retail prices set for launch, there are still ways to reduce the cost of your purchase.
If you are using a credit card, average cash back rates generally range from 1% to 2%. Using a 1.5% average, you could expect approximately $1.20 USD back on a $79.99 pre-tax purchase of the Standard edition and $1.50 USD on the Ultimate edition. In Canada, that would work out to approximately $1.65 CAD back on the $109.99 Standard edition and $2.10 CAD on the $139.99 Ultimate edition.

However, things get a little more interesting if you make your purchase on Xbox and factor in Microsoft Rewards.

As of writing, there is no equivalent PlayStation rewards system that I am aware of. Microsoft Rewards awards a set number of points for eligible purchases, with the amount depending on whether or not you are subscribed to Game Pass.

If you are enrolled in Microsoft Rewards, you receive a base amount of points for eligible purchases, with additional multipliers based on your Xbox Game Pass tier. Premium subscribers receive a 2x multiplier, while Ultimate subscribers receive a 4x multiplier.

The calculations get a little more complicated depending on your region.

For example, Microsoft advertises up to 40 points per dollar for eligible purchases on Premium, which is the tier I am currently subscribed to. However, I recently noticed that the actual reward rate can be affected by local currency. To see how this worked in practice, I made a $13.37 CAD game purchase that generated 391 Microsoft Rewards points. A simple calculation using 40 points per Canadian dollar would have produced 535 points. Because of this discrepancy, the Microsoft Rewards amounts below are estimates based on my own account. Your actual earnings may vary depending on your region, account and applicable Rewards rates.

With that out of the way, if I were to purchase the GTA VI Standard edition for $109.99 CAD, I would receive approximately 3,217 Microsoft Rewards points. That would be enough to redeem a $5 Xbox Store voucher at the current 3,005 point cost when using the auto-redeem option for this specific reward.

My credit card also provides 2% cash back on my total transaction cost, including taxes. With my 15% sales tax, the $109.99 purchase comes to $126.49, giving me approximately $2.53 CAD in cash back. Combined with the Microsoft Rewards redemption, that would give me approximately $7.53 in total savings on my day-one purchase.

For the Ultimate Edition at $139.99 CAD, the purchase comes to $160.99 after 15% sales tax. My 2% cash back would provide approximately $3.22 CAD, while the Microsoft Rewards redemption would provide another $5 in Xbox Store credit. That would give me approximately $8.22 in total savings.

The exact amount will depend on the Rewards rates and credit card rewards available to you.
Technically, you could save even more money by accumulating Microsoft Rewards points and redeeming them for Xbox Store credit. In theory, you could eventually cover some or even all of the cost of the game if you accumulate enough points before launch.

That got me wondering how much I could actually save by GTA VI launch using Microsoft Rewards.

As of September 23, 2026, I currently have $15 in Microsoft account credit and 2,934 Rewards points. Based on my current Rewards activity, I am earning roughly 693.5 points per day and redeeming them approximately every five days or so. 

There are 57 days until GTA VI launches on November 19, 2026.

If my current earning rate remains consistent, I could accumulate enough additional Rewards points to build up approximately $85 in Microsoft account credit by launch. That would represent a significant discount on the day-one purchase.

Am I up for it?

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