Sensor Tower estimates 9.69 million GTA VI pre-orders. Rockstar hasn't given a number
Sony and Microsoft confirm store records, with no copy counts. What the estimate counts, and how it compares with Cyberpunk 2077's 8 million.
Sensor Tower estimates GTA VI has 9.69 million pre-orders on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. That's a market research firm's number, not Rockstar's. Rockstar, Take-Two, Sony and Microsoft haven't given one.
What they have confirmed is two records. On November 10, Sony's PlayStation Blog opened its pre-load post with this line: "Grand Theft Auto VI is now the most pre-ordered game in the history of PlayStation Store." Later that day, Xbox Wire called it "the most pre-ordered title of all time on the Microsoft Store." GamesRadar and Game Informer reported both claims side by side.
So GTA VI holds the pre-order record on both console stores. Whether it's the most pre-ordered game ever is a different question, and the answer rests on estimates.
What's official
- Sony: the PlayStation Store record, in its own blog post.
- Microsoft: the Microsoft Store record, on Xbox Wire. GTA VI isn't on PC, so in practice that means Xbox.
- Take-Two: no figure. Its November 9 results said pre-orders were "continuing to reach unprecedented levels," and CEO Strauss Zelnick said they were "tracking far in excess of our initial expectations," as Output Lag reported. Our earnings story has the rest.
None of them gave a copy count, the size of the lead or the record GTA VI beat.
What's an estimate
Sensor Tower runs a weekly GTA VI sales tracker. Its latest update, reported by GamesRadar and Push Square on November 10, puts pre-orders on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S at 9.69 million. GamesRadar adds the revenue estimate, about US$942 million, and the split: 7.23 million on PS5 and 2.46 million on Xbox, roughly three to one.
On November 4 and 5, Dexerto and GGRecon reported the tracker at 7.71 million pre-orders worth about US$751 million.
Dexerto notes the tracker counts digital pre-orders only. Boxed copies, which hold a download code rather than a disc, aren't in it. And nobody who holds the real numbers has confirmed any of these figures.
The Cyberpunk comparison
Most coverage measures GTA VI against Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt said that game had 8 million pre-orders when it launched in December 2020. Sensor Tower's newest GTA VI estimate is about 1.7 million higher.
The two numbers don't count the same things. CD Projekt's 8 million covered every format: its investor relations account said 59% were on PC and 74% were digital, VGC and TheGamer reported at the time. Sensor Tower's GTA VI figure is digital console copies only.
Our arithmetic: 41% of Cyberpunk's 8 million were on console, about 3.3 million across disc and digital. Sensor Tower's estimate for GTA VI's digital console pre-orders alone is nearly three times that.
So on the estimates, GTA VI looks to have passed Cyberpunk more than a week before launch. That's our reading of third-party numbers, so treat it as speculation for now. Nobody holding the real figures has said so, and the full total, boxed copies included, isn't public.
Where the money figure comes from
US$942 million over 9.69 million copies works out to about US$97 a copy (our arithmetic). Sensor Tower's revenue covers every market, so that's a rough read. But it sits close to the Ultimate Edition's US price, which fits Sensor Tower's August estimate that Ultimate made up 89% of pre-orders. Sensor Tower's Karl Kontus told GamesIndustry.biz, as TweakTown reported, "I have never seen a 90% premium share before."
Edition prices on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store:
| Market | Standard | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| United States | US$79.99 | US$99.99 |
| Canada | C$109.99 | C$139.99 |
| United Kingdom | £69.99 | £89.99 |
| Eurozone | €79.99 | €99.99 |
| Australia | A$129.95 | A$159.95 |
| Japan | ¥9,800 | ¥12,280 |
| Brazil | R$449.90 | R$549.90 |
| India | ₹5,999 | ₹7,499 |
| Mexico (Xbox Store) | MXN 1,499 | MXN 1,879 |
US and Canadian prices are before sales tax. Both stores list the same prices everywhere above except Mexico, where we show the Xbox Store's. Our price story covers what Ultimate adds.
What would settle it
A real number from Take-Two or Rockstar. Take-Two's next quarterly report covers October to December, launch included.
Until then, the scoreboard reads like this. Two store records, confirmed. About 9.69 million pre-orders, estimated. Rockstar's own count, blank.
Sources
Sources (16)
- Pre-load Grand Theft Auto VI on PS5 starting today (PlayStation Blog)
- Grand Theft Auto VI comes to Xbox Cloud Gaming on November 19 (Xbox Wire)
- GTA 6 Sales Tracker (Sensor Tower)
- GTA 6 is officially the most pre-ordered game in PlayStation and Xbox store history (GamesRadar+)
- GTA 6 on PS5 is PS Store's most pre-ordered digital game in history (Push Square)
- Grand Theft Auto VI is the most pre-ordered game in PlayStation and Xbox store history (Game Informer)
- GTA 6 has already made over $750 million in pre-orders: report (Dexerto)
- GTA 6 pre-orders hit 7.71 million, says Sensor Tower (GGRecon)
- Take-Two Q2 fiscal 2027 results (SEC 8-K)
- GTA 6 officially goes gold (Output Lag)
- Cyberpunk 2077 has already broken records on PC, Steam and Twitch (VGC, 2020)
- The vast majority of Cyberpunk 2077 pre-orders were digital on PC (TheGamer, 2020)
- $100 GTA 6 version makes up 89% of pre-orders, analysts estimate (TweakTown)
- Almost 90% of GTA 6 pre-orders are reportedly for the Ultimate Edition (Shacknews)
- Grand Theft Auto VI (PlayStation Store, US; swap en-us for other countries)
- Grand Theft Auto VI (Xbox Store, US; swap en-US for other countries)