GTA 6 Pre-Orders Surpass $1 Billion but May Not Revive Console Sales

Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) has surpassed $1.18 billion in pre-orders just days before its highly anticipated November 19 release, according to market research firm Sensor Tower. The game has sold 12 million units in pre-orders, significantly outpacing the 7 million pre-orders recorded by Grand Theft Auto V before its 2013 launch, Forbes reported.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick stated this week that pre-orders are 'tracking far above our initial expectations.' The game is priced at $80 for the Standard Edition and $100 for the Ultimate Edition, making it the most expensive launch in the series. However, it will only be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with new models of these consoles now costing between $599 and $899.

The rising cost of consoles is largely attributed to the AI boom, as data centers purchase memory chips in bulk, driving up prices for consoles, laptops, and phones. Microsoft noted in June that console memory and storage prices have increased more than 2.5 times. Consequently, a new player must spend between $580 and over $1,000 just to start playing, according to Alinea Analytics.

US spending on gaming hardware fell 9 percent to $2.9 billion from January to September, according to Circana, while Xbox Series sales dropped 27 percent. Analysts expect GTA 6 to provide only a marginal boost to console sales. 'This has been a terrible year for hardware,' said Joost van Dreunen of NYU Stern. 'Will GTA reverse that? Marginally so.'

For Pakistani gamers, these global price hikes make playing GTA 6 on PS5 even more costly. ProPakistani earlier reported the official GTA 6 price, highlighting the challenges for local enthusiasts amid rising hardware costs.