India, Sept. 24 -- Physical marketing for Grand Theft Auto VI has officially begun, as official pre-release cases and promotional display boxes are surfacing across retail stores in the UK, Europe, and Japan. The emergence of these physical mockups gives eager fans their closest look yet at the official front and back cover packaging. However, the "physical" release of GTA 6 is drawing widespread community debate.

'Code-in-a-Box' Controversy

While stores are displaying these game cases to drive pre-orders, Rockstar Games has confirmed that the final physical standard retail copies will not include a physical game disc. Instead, the retail box will strictly contain a digital download code.

The Setup: The physical packaging features a cl...