GTA VI Sets Nov. 19 Launch With Justice Score as Vader Prop Hits $1M

Blockbuster interactive entertainment and landmark motion-picture artifacts headlined cultural coverage on Monday as Rockstar Games prepared for the November 19 launch of "Grand Theft Auto VI" featuring an adaptive score by French electronic duo Justice and Heritage Auctions previewed its November 12 "Star Wars" memorabilia sale led by Darth Vader's screen-used lightsaber at $1,050,000.

'Grand Theft Auto VI' Arrives November 19 With Adaptive Score by Justice

After a 13-year wait since its last main installment, Rockstar Games and publisher Take-Two Interactive will release "Grand Theft Auto VI" on November 19, 2026. Since debuting in 1997 as a top-down title and redefining three-dimensional open-world design with "Grand Theft Auto III" in 2001—influencing franchises from Ubisoft's "Assassin's Creed" and Bethesda's "The Elder Scrolls" to Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild"—the series has sold more than 470 million units worldwide. Released in 2013 with dialogue shaped alongside former writer and audio director Lazlow Jones, "Grand Theft Auto V" alone accounts for more than 230 million units and generated $1 billion in retail sales in just 3 days.

Returning to Vice City—Rockstar's fictional counterpart to Miami—and expanding across the Florida-inspired state of Leonida, "Grand Theft Auto VI" centers on two playable protagonists, Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval, alongside supporting characters including Raul Bautista, aspiring music executive Dre'Quan Priest, nightclub owner Boobie Ike, and Leonida Keys figure Brian Heder. Actor Stephen Root ("Office Space," "King of the Hill," and "Barry") confirmed to The Associated Press in September that he lends his voice to the game, with reports linking him to Heder.

Expanding the franchise's musical legacy, Grammy-winning French electronic duo Justice—Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay—composed an original score that dynamically adapts to player actions and environments. A 30-track score album is scheduled for release on December 11, featuring collaborations with Tame Impala, SZA, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, and Gesaffelstein alongside the game's fictional radio stations.

Darth Vader's 'Empire Strikes Back' Lightsaber Draws $1,050,000 Ahead of November 12 Auction

In Los Angeles, Heritage Auctions announced that bidding opens on November 12 on a collection of screen-used "Star Wars" props spanning the original trilogy and sequels. According to Brian Chanes, senior director of Hollywood and entertainment at Heritage Auctions and a 35-year veteran of the field, the centerpiece lot is the metal-and-rubber action lightsaber wielded by Darth Vader in "The Empire Strikes Back" during the Cloud City duel with Luke Skywalker.

Bidding on Vader's lightsaber opened at $1 million and has already reached $1,050,000 ahead of the November 12 auction start. The sale also features the screen-matched and photo serial-number matched weapon carried by actor Jeremy Bulloch in his debut as bounty hunter Boba Fett in "The Empire Strikes Back," constructed from a World War I flare gun fitted with a shoulder stock.