In less than a week of its pre-orders going live, Grand Theft Auto 6 has become the top-selling PS5 game across all regions. Despite the hefty $100 price tag of the Ultimate Edition, it seems to have become the version of choice for fans of the franchise who have been looking forward to pre-ordering the title.
Regardless of the region – the US, UK, France, Canada, India, Japan, or even South Korea – the Ultimate Edition for Grand Theft Auto 6 has been topping the sales charts, as can be seen through the “All games” section of the PlayStation Store. It is worth keeping in mind that this only accounts for digital sales, and sales for the physical edition are currently unknown.
As for how well it might be doing on Xbox Series X/S, the sales data isn’t quite available yet. However, navigating the Xbox website might eventually lead you to the “Popular Optimized games” page, which also indicates that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been quite a popular title to pre-order and wishlist.
Rumors had indicated that pre-orders for Rockstar Games’ upcoming title were much higher on PS5 than on Xbox Series X/S, by a ratio of 6 to 1. However, without offering any real numbers, a Microsoft spokesperson has clarified that the company has been seeing “record” pre-orders on its platforms as well.
Fans who might be thinking of waiting for a bit before buying the title in the hopes that a physical release with a disc might be released, reports have indicated that this is unlikely to happen. Citing a “source with knowledge of the plans,” The Hollywood Reporter has claimed that a disc release for GTA 6 isn’t planned for launch or the following months.
Circana’s Mat Piscatella, known for his analysis of the gaming market, doesn’t think that the lack of a disc will have much impact on the sales expectations for Grand Theft Auto 6. Pointing to the popularity of current-gen consoles lacking a disc drive, like the PS5 Digital Edition and Xbox Series S, Piscatella also noted that retailers that don’t deal in used games are likely happy about the lack of a disc in the physical release as well.
“Anyways, devil’s advocate here, but given the % of PS5/XBS consoles out there without a disc drive, one could argue code in box may provide a better opportunity for retailers, particularly those that don’t sell used,” he wrote. “In any case, can’t say this changes anything regarding total sales expectations.”
Analysts have also spoken about how the higher-than-average price for Grand Theft Auto 6 – $80 for its standard edition – might have a larger impact on the industry. NYU Stern School of Business professor and industry researcher Joost van Dreunen, for instance, spoke about how gaming is becoming more of a luxury category as time moves on.
“Its economics have historically centered around a winner-takes-most model, and GTA 6 raises the bar again. Publishers who can clear it will pull further ahead, and those who cannot will have to compete on distribution instead, finding new channels, bundles, and pricing models to reach players the blockbusters don’t.”
As for fans who are waiting for an eventual PC release of Grand Theft Auto 6, the wait might be a long one, since Take-Two Interactive boss Strauss Zelnick has said that console players are the “core audience” for the game.
