Grand Theft Auto VI has an estimated 7.71 million digital pre-orders two weeks before launch, according to data firm Sensor Tower, and roughly three quarters of them are on PS5. Kotaku and GamesRadar+ both report the figures from the company's sales tracker, which puts pre-order revenue at an estimated $751 million.
These are third-party estimates, not sales results. Sensor Tower's tracker couldn't be checked directly for this article, so everything below is as reported by Kotaku, GamesRadar+ and Dexerto, credited to each. Neither Kotaku's nor Dexerto's report carries a statement from Rockstar Games or its parent, Take-Two, and GamesRadar+ makes the obvious point that only Rockstar knows where the game really sits.
What the estimate says
Kotaku reports that Sensor Tower has 5.74 million copies pre-ordered on PS5 and 1.97 million on Xbox Series X/S, a split of about 74 percent to 26 percent. Dexerto puts the revenue on each side at $559 million for PlayStation and $192 million for Xbox.
There is an important limit on those numbers. Dexerto says they cover digital pre-orders only, so physical copies reserved at retailers aren't in the count. Whatever the true total is, this estimate isn't trying to measure all of it.
The pace also appears to be picking up. Dexerto reports more than $100 million in added pre-order revenue over the past two weeks, and Kotaku says the tracker's trendline shows an uptick after the game's extended gameplay reveal on Netflix.
Kotaku offers two possible reasons for PlayStation's lead: Sony's exclusive marketing campaign for the game, and a base PS5 that costs less than a base Xbox Series X. Those are Kotaku's readings rather than Sensor Tower findings. On the Xbox figure, Kotaku's verdict is that it "isn't great, but it could be much worse."
How it compares
Kotaku's comparisons give the number some scale. Cyberpunk 2077 reportedly reached about 8 million total pre-orders before its 2020 launch, which leaves GTA VI just short of that mark on this estimate, with two weeks still to go. Kotaku also says the figure already sits just behind Resident Evil Requiem's estimated 8.5 million sales.
Against launch expectations, it is still a fraction. Kotaku notes that financial services firm Piper Sandler is predicting 45 million sales when the game comes out.
The revenue comparison everyone will reach for is GTA V, which Dexerto says earned more than $800 million worldwide in its first 24 hours in September 2013, according to Take-Two, and passed $1 billion within three days. Dexerto itself cautions that the two aren't directly comparable, because one is an unofficial pre-order estimate and the other is official post-launch sales.
What happens next
Dexerto reports that the game launches on November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with pre-loading starting on November 10. Firmer numbers will have to come from Rockstar or Take-Two, and nothing in these reports says when that will happen.
Mason's take: The headline number is the less interesting one. A pre-order estimate this size for a game of this profile surprises nobody, and the digital-only caveat means it's a partial picture anyway. The 74 percent split says more, if it holds up. That's a tracker's estimate, not a verdict, but it fits a launch where, as Kotaku tells it, one console maker has the marketing deal and the other is working around it. I'd want to see official platform numbers before reading too much into it.
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