In early August, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, stated that the majority of pre-orders for the upcoming GTA VI were for the ultimate edition. His statements have now been confirmed by analysts from VG Insights, a subsidiary of Sensor Tower.
GTA VI
In an interview with GamesIndustry, Karl Kontus, the general manager of VG Insights, noted that expensive editions typically have strong demand during the pre-order phase. The reason is simple — they are bought by the most dedicated fans, who are often willing to spend more. However, normally the share is about 10-20%, with 50% already considered excellent. Kontus is seeing the 89% share for the first time in his career.
Kontus believes that in the case of GTA VI, the relatively small price difference between the ultimate edition ($100) and the standard edition ($80) played a role, given that the more expensive version includes a lot of additional content. Nevertheless, the analyst expects that as the release date nears, the share of pre-orders for the ultimate edition of the game will decrease to 50% as GTA VI attracts more casual gamers at that time.
“Honestly, I'm a bit surprised they didn't release a $150 version — as if they missed an opportunity to earn more. But at least there are fewer dissatisfied gamers,” added Kontus.
Take-Two Interactive is already doing well financially. According to VG Insights estimates, as of August 11, pre-orders for GTA VI have generated $421 million in revenue. The majority of the money — $325 million — was from PlayStation 5 sales.
Breakdown of GTA VI pre-orders by platform
GTA VI is set to be released on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series.