GTA 6 has an estimated 6 million digital pre-orders, 148% ahead of Modern Warfare 2
Sensor Tower's store data puts it far ahead of every big launch it's tracked, with three in four pre-orders on PlayStation. These are estimates, they aren't Take-Two's numbers, and the scope matters.
By Wes Calloway
Grand Theft Auto 6 has about 6.08 million digital pre-orders on PlayStation and Xbox, going by an estimate from the analytics firm Sensor Tower that GamesIndustry.biz reported. That's about $594 million after refunds, and it puts the game 148% ahead of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 at the same point before its launch.
Modern Warfare 2 was the strongest of the launches Sensor Tower compared it with. Nothing else was close.
The numbers
- Pre-orders: about 6.08 million, to 13 October, which was 37 days before launch.
- Revenue: about $594 million, after refunds.
- PlayStation: about 74%, roughly 4.51 million copies.
- Xbox: about 26%, roughly 1.57 million copies.
- Edition: the large majority of buyers chose the $99.99 Ultimate Edition.
A later update, reported by TechPowerUp around 20 October, puts the count at about 6.45 million and revenue at about $630 million, with the same three-to-one split in PlayStation's favour.
Store data, not sales
These are estimates. Sensor Tower models store data, and Take-Two and Rockstar haven't published a pre-order figure or confirmed these ones.
The scope needs reading closely too. The comparison with Modern Warfare 2 is described as covering US digital pre-orders on PlayStation and Xbox, while some of the coverage calls the headline figure global. Either way, it leaves out the boxed edition, and since the box only contains a download code that's still a real slice of sales missing from the count.
Sensor Tower also changed its estimation model on 5 October, so comparing these numbers with its earlier ones isn't quite like for like.
Most people are paying for Ultimate
Even read cautiously, there's no doubt about the direction. Pre-orders running at more than twice the pace of one of the biggest Call of Duty launches ever is a different scale of event. The edition split stood out to us just as much: most people paying for GTA 6 in advance are paying the extra $20 for the Ultimate Edition.
The platform split's less of a surprise. PlayStation has the marketing deal, the launch trailer opens on its logo and was captured on a PS5, and the PS5 has the bigger installed base.
The next chance for a real number
We still don't know real sales, worldwide pre-orders including boxes, or how many of these pre-orders were bought with a console. Take-Two reports its quarterly results on 9 November, the last scheduled moment it could choose to give a number before launch. It usually doesn't.
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