GTA 5 might have already been released digitally for PS5 and Xbox Series X, but it’s yet to hit physical shelves. That's set to change as the next-gen version of Rockstar’s acclaimed crime-ridden open-world shooter will launch on disc later this month, and pre-orders are now live.

A recent Rockstar blog post confirmed all the important details, so here's the price and release date of GTA 5’s physical PS5 and Xbox Series X edition.

We rated the game’s next-gen port pretty highly, reckoning it was actually worth buying again , even if it is nearly a decade old.

GTA 5 next-gen physical edition release date

Physical versions of GTA 5 for Xbox Series X and PS5 will release on April 12. You’ll be able to pick a copy up in your local games store or nab one off the web.

GTA 5 next-gen physical edition price

The game's disc copy can be pre-ordered now and will cost you $39.99 / £34.99 / about AU$53.50.

Bear in mind, that price is significantly higher than the digital version. Until June 14, Xbox players can grab a downloadable copy for half price at $19.99 / £17.49 / AU$29.97.

Meanwhile, PlayStation players get an even bigger discount with the digital PS5 version of the game only $9.99 / £8.75 / AU$ 14.99 on the PS Store. And if you’ve ever played GTA 5’s multiplayer on PS4 , you can claim the PS5 version of GTA Online for free until June 14.

You can purchase the game directly through the Rockstar store , or from selected retailers, including Best Buy .

Pre-order bonuses

There don’t appear to be any pre-order bonuses for the physical release of GTA 5 on  PS5 and Xbox Series X. Although that might be disappointing, it makes things a lot easier.

When choosing where to buy the game, you can just focus on picking up a copy for the lowest price available, rather than having to factor in a ton of bonus rewards.

GTA Online

It's good to know exactly what it is you’re getting in the physical version of GTA 5. GTA Online, its multiplayer component, is included alongside the main single-player story. It isn't available to buy separately as a physical product.

That means you don’t have to worry about shelling out twice. You’ll get the single-player and multiplayer parts of GTA 5 in one package. That’s handy.

If you’re only interested in the multiplayer, however, you might be better off skipping the disc version and downloading the standalone GTA Online to save yourself some money. During the current post-launch discount period, you can pick it up for $9.99 / £8.99 / AU$ 15.47 during the three-month discount period, or $19,99 / £17.99 / AU$ 30.95 thereafter.

If you decide you want to play the game’s single-player after all, you can always pay to unlock story mode access later.

The Microsoft Office app has a fresh new look, but not for everyone

Microsoft has rolled out a fresh version of Officeom and the corresponding Windows application, with a revamped user interface that’s supposed to maximize productivity .

As explained in a Microsoft blog post , the changes will take effect for business and education customers first, with similar updates for personal accounts to follow “in the coming months”.

The company suggests that business customers took priority in this instance because the new functionalities are largely geared towards managing large volumes of files more efficiently, a challenge that professionals are more likely to encounter.

New-look Microsoft Office

First announced at Microsoft Ignite in November 2021, the changes to the Microsoft Office app and web client are designed to make managing and locating files simpler, by fine-tuning menu screens and introducing opportunities for customization.

“We designed Officeom and the parallel Office app for Windows to be the hub for your content - a place where you can get to all your files and documents, understand what needs your attention, and easily start creating content,” wrote Microsoft.

The most significant upgrade is perhaps the new-look home screen, which now features a Quick Access section that helps surface important files and filter options that allow users to organize files by those most recently opened, shared, favorites and various other parameters.

There’s also a new My Content pane, which Microsoft says “helps you get to all the work related to you no matter the file type, where it’s stored, or how it was shared with you”. This page also benefits from infinite scroll, which eliminates the hassle of tabbing through multiple results pages to find a specific file.

Lastly, the Create pane lets users create new documents and spreadsheets with a single click, using a variety of templates as the base.

“Just select the type of content you wish to create and you’ll be presented with various template options across multiple apps all at once so you can decide which works best for you,” Microsoft explained.

These updates should take effect for all corporate and education customers by the end of the week.

Google Pixel 6a benchmark suggests this could almost match the Pixel 6's power

The Google Pixel 6a has been leaking for a while, but now we have a clearer indication of how much power this upcoming phone might have, as it's been spotted on a benchmarking site.

MySmartPrice has spotted the phone on Geekbench, and its presence there not only gives us a sneak peek into the phone’s specs but tells us that the Pixel 6a might launch soon.

The Geekbench 5 listing suggests that the affordable Pixel 6a will indeed come with Google’s Tensor chipset – the same chipset that powers the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro . It's shown here as being clocked at the same speeds too, and paired with the Mali-G78 GPU, just like the rest of the range.

Where the Google Pixel 6a looks to differ is in its RAM, which is listed here as being 6GB, while the Pixel 6 comes with 8GB and the Pixel 6 Pro has 12GB. That said, we've previously heard rumors of an 8GB Pixel 6a model too.

The benchmark listing also mentions Android 12 unsurprisingly, and reveals that the phone has scored 1,050 points in the single-core test and 2,833 in the multi-core test.

For reference, in our reviews we achieved a score of 2,837 from the Pixel 6 and 2,895 from the Pixel 6 Pro in multi-core tests, so the Pixel 6a could be similarly powerful.

Going by previous reports, both the Google Pixel 6a and the Pixel Watch were slated to launch in May , however, a recent report suggests that Google might postpone the Pixel 6a announcement to July. This is reportedly being done because of the ongoing global chipset shortage.

Analysis: worth the wait for a wider rollout

The Pixel 6a wouldn't be the first Google phone affected by the global chipset shortage, as the Pixel 5a only landed in the US and Japan, presumably at least in part due to a shortage of components.

Yet with its mid-range price and competent specs, plus the promise of numerous and speedy Android updates, the Pixel 5a was a phone with global appeal, and we expect the Pixel 6a will be as well.

So with any luck Google will be able to launch the Pixel 6a in more regions, and if it takes a delay to achieve that then so be it.