Could GTA 6 break every sales record? Pre-orders, analyst forecasts and the records to beat

Key figures

The benchmark: what GTA V achieved in 2013

To understand the expectations around GTA 6, start with its predecessor. When GTA V launched on September 17, 2013, on PS3 and Xbox 360, it set seven Guinness World Records:

• 11.21 million copies sold in the first 24 hours, the best-selling video game ever in its first day;
• $815.7 million in revenue in 24 hours, the highest of any entertainment product;
• $1 billion in three days, the fastest entertainment property ever to reach that mark, faster than any film.

Thirteen years later, GTA V has shipped more than 230 million copies, according to Take-Two, making it the second best-selling game of all time after Minecraft. That is the shadow GTA 6 launches under.

What we know about GTA 6's launch

• Release date: November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with digital preload from November 12.
• Price: $79.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition.
• Pre-orders: opened on June 25, 2026. Rockstar has not published any pre-order figure.

All the details are in our complete GTA 6 release guide.

Pre-orders: the estimates

Rockstar and Take-Two do not share pre-order numbers, so the figures circulating come from analytics firms:

• Sensor Tower estimated about 4.86 million digital pre-orders worldwide by early September 2026, worth nearly $476 million, with 90 % of buyers choosing the Ultimate Edition and a split of 77 % PS5, 23 % Xbox, as reported by GameGeeker.
• After Rockstar's 26-minute gameplay showcase on August 27, 2026, Sensor Tower measured pre-orders jumping 436 % in one day compared with the previous day, according to Cowcotland.
• Newzoo described "the strongest pre-order campaign ever recorded", as quoted by FRVR.

These numbers are estimates based on store data. They are useful to measure momentum, but they are not official.

The forecasts: 37 to 51 million copies in a week

Newzoo's analysts expect GTA 6 to sell between 37 and 51 million copies in its first week. Even the low end would be more than three times the 11.21 million copies GTA V sold on its first day, and far beyond recent blockbusters: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Nintendo's biggest launch, sold 10 million copies in three days in 2022, according to VGC.

At $79.99 to $99.99 per copy, 37 million copies would represent roughly $3 billion in a week, before platform fees. That would make GTA 6 the biggest launch in entertainment history, ahead of any film's opening.

Take-Two's own guidance points the same way: the publisher expects record net bookings of $8.0 to $8.2 billion for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, up from $6.72 billion the year before, according to Game Developer. CEO Strauss Zelnick has called GTA 6 "arguably the most anticipated entertainment property of all time".

The records GTA 6 could break

What could push sales up, or hold them back

Factors for:

• Thirteen years since GTA V: the first trailer (December 2023) and the second (May 2025) set viewing records.
• A huge install base: tens of millions of PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, plus GTA V's 230 million players as a potential audience.
• Digital sales and preload: most players will download the game at launch, and boxed copies contain a download code.

Factors against:

• No PC version at launch: a big part of GTA V's long-term success came from PC players.
• The price: $79.99 is $10 more than most new games, and 90 % of pre-orders reportedly chose the $99.99 edition, which raises revenue but may hold back some buyers.
• A difficult market: US spending on video games fell 3 % in the first eight months of 2026, according to Circana, and console hardware sales are down.
• Fewer old-generation players: PS4 and Xbox One owners, still numerous, cannot play.

Frequently asked questions

How many copies has GTA 6 pre-sold? Rockstar has not said. Sensor Tower estimated about 4.86 million digital pre-orders by early September 2026.

Will GTA 6 make $1 billion on day one? It is possible. Analysts' first-week forecasts imply several billion dollars in the launch week.

Is GTA 6 the most expensive game ever made? Rockstar and Take-Two have not published its budget; figures you may see online are estimates.

Will GTA 6 outsell GTA V? In the first weeks, almost certainly. GTA V's 230 million copies over 13 years will take much longer to match.

Verdict

Every indicator points to the biggest launch in entertainment history on November 19: record pre-order estimates, analyst forecasts of 37 to 51 million copies in the first week, and Take-Two's record guidance. GTA V's 2013 records ($815.7 million in a day, $1 billion in three days) are very likely to fall. What GTA 6 cannot do quickly is match GTA V's longevity: that record was built over 13 years, three console generations and a PC release that GTA 6 does not have yet. For the bigger picture, read the best-selling video games of 2026 and the best-selling games of all time.

This analysis is based on Guinness World Records, Take-Two's statements and analysts' estimates reported by the outlets listed in our sources. Estimates are not official sales figures.