People who purchased Grand Theft Auto VI for Xbox Series X|S were given a physical poster that's shorter than the one that shipped with PlayStation 5 copies, leading to some online chatter debating whether this is purposeful cost cutting or regional packaging difference. We're keeping an eye on all the chatter to see whether the difference in size has any bearing on perceived value of physical retail version.
Physical retail copies ship with console-specific poster dimensions
Rockstar Games offers a double-sided promotional poster with the physical version of the game. The size of the poster varies by console platform. The Xbox Series X|S version is shorter (vertically) than the PlayStation 5 version. This sizing difference is for the physical retail standard version of the game that's going out to consumers.
The key technical point of interest is the difference in physical size between the console specific posters. There's been some observation that the Xbox version is distinctly shorter and that's leading to discussions about the unboxing experience. There's no difference in digital content or software performance. We're just looking at the printed media provided in the box.
An 'Xbox tax' joke is circulating to try and explain the shorter poster size (less cost to produce for Xbox edition). Someone pointed to UK recycling laws for the reason. But there's no confirmation to that (and other players disputed it). It's a physical retail detail and doesn't affect gameplay or system compatibility.
A number of similar balance/stability themes were present the last time we wrote about Grand Theft Auto VI update. This poster conversation is another example of how physical details of the release continue to be the subject of discussion. The size difference is a confirmed retail physical edition detail. And not a software performance metric.
Source: IXBT
It is just cost cutting. Rockstar saves pennies on the print run for Xbox players. The digital content is identical so the poster size is irrelevant to performance.