Grand Theft Auto 6 is approaching the revenue generated by its predecessor on launch day, with new estimates showing millions of players have already placed their orders.
Rockstar Games has yet to release Grand Theft Auto 6, but the upcoming game is already approaching the amount of money Grand Theft Auto 5 generated during its first 24 hours on sale.
According to estimates from analytics firm Sensor Tower, the sequel has accumulated around 7.71 million digital pre-orders, worth approximately $751 million (£570 million), across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
The latest figures, updated on 3 November 2026, suggest that the game added approximately $121 million (£92 million) in estimated pre-order spending over roughly two weeks.
However, these figures are not official sales numbers published by Rockstar or its parent company, Take-Two Interactive. They are third-party estimates, calculated net of returns, and cover digital purchases rather than physical retail orders.
GTA 6 Pre-Orders Approach GTA 5's $800 Million Opening-Day Record
The platform breakdown reveals an uneven split between the two console platforms, with PlayStation accounting for roughly 74% of orders and Xbox making up the remaining 26%.
In unit sales, that represents approximately 5.74 million copies on PlayStation 5 and 1.97 million on Xbox Series X|S. On the same estimates, PlayStation accounts for around $559 million (£424 million) in spending, compared with approximately $192 million (£146 million) for Microsoft's platform.
When GTA 5 launched on 17 September 2013, Take-Two announced that it had generated more than $800 million (approximately £608 million) in worldwide retail sales during its first 24 hours, excluding its upcoming launches in Japan and Brazil. The figure represented the highest first-day sales in the company's history at the time.
The game then crossed $1 billion (approximately £760 million) in worldwide retail sales within its first three days. Take-Two described the performance as the fastest an entertainment property had reached that milestone at the time.
Although the estimated value of GTA 6's digital pre-orders is approaching GTA 5's first-day sales total, the two figures measure different stages of each game's commercial performance.
The new game's total represents estimated spending before launch, whereas the older game's figure represents reported retail sales after release. They should not be treated as directly equivalent records.
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There are several factors that could contribute to the difference in platform demand, including the relative size of each console's installed audience. However, the figures alone do not establish why individual players have chosen one platform over the other.
Sensor Tower's tracker covers digital orders through the PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store, meaning boxed copies are not included in the reported total. Consequently, the estimates do not account for every copy that players may have reserved ahead of launch.
There is also an important distinction between pre-orders and completed sales. Take-Two Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick previously described GTA 6's pre-orders as 'unprecedented and astonishing'. However, he cautioned that customers could still cancel their orders, explaining that the company had not yet counted any of them as completed sales.
Although Sensor Tower's figures account for returns, the $751 million (£570 million) remains an estimate of digital pre-order spending rather than an officially confirmed revenue figure from Take-Two.
The game is scheduled to arrive on 19 November 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Its launch will provide the first opportunity to compare the pre-release estimates with actual sales figures.
Take-Two has acknowledged the strong response but has not disclosed an official pre-order total. This leaves outside analytics firms to estimate the scale of demand.
For Rockstar, the commercial opportunity extends beyond the initial release. GTA Online became a long-running part of GTA 5's commercial success, helping the franchise maintain player interest well beyond the original launch.
The performance of the next instalment's online offering will therefore be another factor in determining how long its commercial success lasts.
The immediate question is whether GTA 6 can turn its enormous pre-release interest into an opening that exceeds the record established by its predecessor. The final result will depend on actual purchases once the game becomes available.
