Take-Two Interactive has described the volume of GTA 6 pre-orders as ‘unprecedented’, as it praises for Rockstar for the game’s price.
GTA 6 is set to be the biggest game of all-time when it launches on November 19, but we don’t have a concrete idea of how well it’s doing in terms of pre-order numbers.
Rockstar opened pre-orders for the sequel on June 25, across the £69.99 standard edition and the £89.99 Ultimate Edition. It is set to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, but as expected, Sony’s console is proving more popular based on early data.
Rockstar owner Take-Two Interactive has now released its financial results for Q1 of the 2027 fiscal year (ending June 30, 2026), where the company’s CEO Strauss Zelnick commented on GTA 6’s pre-orders for the first time.
While he doesn’t provide any specific figures, Zelnick said GTA 6 had an ‘exceptional start to pre-orders’, which were only open for five days during this quarter.
Speaking during an earnings call, Zelnick said: ‘I can say that the level of pre-orders is unprecedented and astonishing, and we’re very grateful for that. But they are so unprecedented that we just don’t know how it’ll translate into sales, which is a question I answered earlier. We genuinely don’t, and we just don’t believe in claiming victory before it occurs.’
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He went on to praise Rockstar for the game’s price, which was lower than many analysts had predicted. ‘I think that Rockstar got it right in terms of the pricing of this standard edition and the pricing of the deluxe edition, and I think there’s no doubt that consumers are really excited about both,’ Zelnick added.
‘And I think depending on your own ability to pay and how avid a consumer you are, you can choose between them. But the pre-orders have been exceptional, and we’re happy with the mix as well.’
Take-Two’s net bookings (a metric used to measure earnings when an order is placed, versus actual income) were $1.39 billion (£1 billion) during the quarter, which was described as ‘slightly above’ expectations, even if it is down 3% year-on-year. NBA 2K, the GTA series, Toon Blast, and Match Factory were cited as the biggest sellers
Losses for the quarter amounted to $34.1 million (£23 million), compared with a loss of $11.9 million (£8.8 million) the year prior.
However, Take-Two faced a $43.3 million (£32 million) impairment charge this quarter for the ‘decision not to proceed with further development of an unannounced title in its pipeline from a third party developer’. In other words, it cancelled a game.
There’s no clue as to what the cancelled game was. It may become more obvious what it was in the coming days, if the developer drops any clue as to their involvement.
Take-Two’s expects to rack up $8 to $8.2 billion (£6 billion) in net bookings over the entire 2027 fiscal year, primarily driven by GTA 6.
Elsewhere in the report, Take-Two provided some updated sales figures. GTA 5 has now sold over 230 million units, while Red Dead Redemption 2 has surpassed 87 million copies. A current gen patch for the latter has been rumoured for some time, but it still hasn’t been announced.
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