UPDATE – August 31: Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower followed up on their previous data with a new batch of information that gives us an idea of how GTA 6 has been performing after we got our first proper look at it. And…yeah, it’s pretty crazy.
According to Abe Yousef, Senior Insights Analyst, daily preorders skyrocketed by 436% on August 27 compared to the previous day. Across August 27 and August 28, the pre-orders jumped by 572% compared to the average recorded over the previous 30 days.
Sensor Tower previously estimated that GTA 6 had accumulated around 4.6 million pre-orders ahead of the Netflix showcase. Based on the daily figures shown in its latest graph and some quick maths of my own, approximately another 165,000 pre-orders appear to have come in across August 27 and August 28, potentially bringing the grand total to around 4.77 million.
I’ve contacted Sensor Tower to confirm my estimates based on their graph above. I’ll update if they provide me a precise figure.
And, of course, it goes without saying that Sensor Tower is a third party producing estimates through its own proprietary methods. None of this is official data from Rockstar or Take-Two, so it should be taken with a nice spoonful of salt.
Update – August 28: Sensor Tower has issued an updated estimate putting GTA 6 at approximately 4.6 million pre-orders, up from the 4.38 million reported when this article was originally published. That’s around $446 million in estimated gross revenue. Interestingly, the firm also estimates that nearly 90% of those buyers have opted for the $99.99 Ultimate Edition, something Sensor Tower describes as an unusually high premium-edition mix.
This new data was taken before the game’s extended look on Netflix. Sensor Tower promises new data this weekend. It will be interesting to see if there’s a bigger jump.
ORIGINAL STORY: Grand Theft Auto 6 has apparently already made nearly half a billion dollars despite still being three months away from launch, because of course it bloody has
According to the latest estimates from analytics company Sensor Tower’s dedicated GTA 6 sales tracker, GTA 6 has accumulated 4.38 million pre-orders across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, representing around $429 million in revenue, net of returns.
PlayStation is doing most of the heavy lifting, accounting for 77% of the estimated sales compared with 23% on Xbox. That works out to roughly 3.38 million pre-orders on PS5 and 1 million on Xbox.
Those are some silly numbers for a game that isn’t launching until November 19. Pre-orders only opened on June 25, too, meaning Rockstar has apparently convinced more than four million people to hand over their money around five months early.
As I covered when all the pre-order details were announced, the standard edition costs $79.99 while the Ultimate Edition comes in at $99.99.
Before we get completely carried away, though, there’s a fairly chunky caveat attached to all of this: these are estimates.
Rockstar and Take-Two haven’t announced any actual sales numbers, and Sensor Tower obviously doesn’t have somebody hiding in Rockstar’s accounting department nicking spreadsheets. Its figures are based on market data and statistical modelling, so 4.38 million shouldn’t be treated as an exact figure.
Sensor Tower isn’t some random Twitter account making numbers up for engagement, though. It’s an established market intelligence company that acquired Video Game Insights (VGI) in 2025, adding VGI’s PC and console tracking to its existing analytics business.
According to Sensor Tower, VGI’s estimates are powered by aggregated data from more than four million public player profiles and cover Steam, PlayStation and Xbox.
VGI has been around for years and is probably best known for its Steam sales estimates, but its PlayStation and Xbox tracking is considerably newer. In fact, Sensor Tower’s own announcement of the acquisition noted that VGI had only launched its PlayStation and Xbox competitive intelligence in the preceding months.
That’s worth keeping in mind here; estimating console pre-orders for an unreleased game isn’t quite the same thing as estimating Steam sales for something that’s been out for six months and has tens of thousands of reviews to work with.
In other words, I wouldn’t bet my house on GTA 6 having sold precisely 4,380,000 pre-orders. Mostly because I don’t own a house, admittedly, but also because these numbers should be viewed as a useful estimate rather than an official sales announcement.
What makes Sensor Tower’s estimate considerably more interesting is that Take-Two itself has already confirmed that things are going very well.
During Take-Two’s latest earnings call, the publisher said GTA 6 has had an “exceptional start to pre-orders”, although it conspicuously declined to attach an actual number to that statement. Spoilsports.
Take-Two also revealed that GTA 5 has now sold-in more than 230 million copies worldwide, just in case you needed a reminder of the absurd scale we’re dealing with here. Which also begs an obvious question: who the hell out there is still buying copies of GTA 5 in numbers big enough that it keeps popping up in sales charts? It’s nuts.
There’s also plenty of time for the pre-order figure to climb. Rockstar is planning to show Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look on August 27, which Take-Two believes will drive anticipation even higher ahead of the November launch. I’ve already covered the slightly bizarre fact that the Extended Look will premiere on Netflix before appearing elsewhere.
Personally, I have no idea why you’d ever pre-order a digital game months in advance. It can’t run out. I’ll usually just do it a few days before I can preload it and maybe snag any bonuses. But maybe some people just like to do it so the money is gone, rather than wait? If you pre-order months in advance, let me know the reasoning behind it. I’m curious.
As for GTA 6, it will almost undoubtedly be the biggest entertainment launch in history. Which makes me wonder if there will a backlash. It probably will be pretty damn amazing, but can any game live up to the sheer scale and hype that GTA 6?
Also, can I interest in my list of the best GTA missions ever?
From disastrous bank robberies and military shootouts to jetpacks, betrayals and an irresponsible number of dead police officers. These are the best missions GTA has to offer.