Rockstar’s support page quietly confirms what physical buyers in Japan already suspected: PS5 download codes bundled with GTA 6 boxes expire exactly 170 days after the November 19, 2026 launch date. That hard cutoff stems from Japan’s Payment Services Act, which triggers extra government registration for prepaid codes valid longer than 180 days, so publishers deliberately stay just under the line. Xbox codes escape the restriction entirely because they’re not region-locked the same way.

The policy lands on top of Rockstar’s earlier decision to skip discs for the physical edition at launch, leaving Japanese customers with a literal code-in-a-box that turns into dead weight if the shrink-wrap sits on a shelf past May 2026. Social media erupted with the usual “this is why physical matters” chorus, while some Japanese outlets clarified the 170-day window applies only to bonus content in early reports before the full support page details spread. No other regions have announced similar limits, but the precedent is now on the books.

Riley’s note on the filing: Rockstar keeps promising the future of gaming while making it harder to actually own the damn thing.