GTA 6 Presales Running Far Above Take-Two Expectations, CEO Says

Presales for Grand Theft Auto 6 are “running far in excess of our expectations,” Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick told Variety on Monday, ahead of the company's earnings release. “That's a good thing. That said, we never claim success before it occurs,” Zelnick added. The game will be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X consoles, with a standard edition at $79.99 and an Ultimate Edition at $99.99, according to Variety.

Rockstar Games has not confirmed exact pre-order totals. Earlier this month, reports indicated the game had sold 8 million copies before launch, but no official figure has been released. Sensor Tower estimates that 7.71 million copies have been sold, generating $751 million in revenue, with about 74 percent of sales on PS5, according to GamingBolt. GamingBolt also cited UK public records that reportedly claimed a development budget over $2 billion, a figure neither the developer nor Take-Two has confirmed, and reported that the game's map is three times larger than Red Dead Redemption 2, with the team size having doubled since that game launched. Zelnick said the company will “certainly be giving more information about how GTA 6 performs post-launch”. Preorders first opened on June 25, and Zelnick said presales reached “unprecedented levels” after that, with Take-Two expecting “a historic year”. The standard edition can be upgraded to the Ultimate Edition later, even for physical copies, according to GamingBolt.

GTA 6 appears to be pulling demand from Take-Two's other releases. NBA 2K27, which launched Sept. 9, failed to meet sales expectations. Zelnick told Bloomberg, “if your lunch is going to be eaten, I'd rather be the one eating it,” and described the situation as “suffering from success”. Even with the miss, NBA 2K27 was still the second-biggest launch for the basketball series. Variety also reported that NBA 2K sales were softer than anticipated. Polygon noted that many publishers avoided November releases to stay clear of GTA 6, pushing several games into September instead.

Take-Two reported July-September game revenue of $1.38 billion and ad sales of $121 million, according to Variety. The company posted a net loss of $54 million, or 29 cents per share, on net bookings of $1.6 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast a loss of 86 cents per share on revenue of $1.66 billion.

SAG-AFTRA issued a statement on Monday supporting Rockstar Games workers' decision to unionize; Zelnick declined to comment. Asked about potential PC or Nintendo Switch 2 versions or a full physical disc release, Zelnick said, “information always comes from our labels”.

Update, November 11, 2026

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said on the company’s Nov. 9 earnings call that Rockstar Games has completed development of Grand Theft Auto VI, HOLR Magazine reported on Thursday. Zelnick did not say the game had officially gone gold, but described the remaining work as making sure the title reaches players with an “A+” technical performance. The release date remains Nov. 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and digital preloading began Nov. 10 for supported consoles. Zelnick also said Rockstar’s marketing campaign is fully prepared and that the company will announce what comes next in due course, without confirming a PC version or online mode details.

Update, November 13, 2026

Sensor Tower now estimates that Grand Theft Auto 6 has sold about 12.13 million copies and generated roughly $1.18 billion in revenue before its Nov. 19 launch, Polygon reported on Friday. Earlier this month, estimates had placed the game at just under 8 million copies, according to Polygon. The average price per sale works out to about $97, which the outlet says indicates most buyers are choosing the $99.99 Ultimate Edition over the $79.99 standard edition. PlayStation 5 copies account for about 75 percent of estimated sales, or 9.08 million copies and $880 million in revenue, Polygon reported. The game is also the most-preordered title on the PlayStation and Xbox stores.