GTA 6 Pre-Orders 'Far Above Expectations,' Take-Two Says

A week before launch, the demand picture is getting clearer — even without hard numbers. Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games' parent company, said this week that Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders keep reaching unprecedented levels and are tracking far above the company's expectations.

What Take-Two has not done is publish a unit total, so every specific pre-order count circulating online this week remains unverified unless it comes from the company itself. The honest summary is the one Take-Two gave: record-setting demand, higher than expected, exact figures not disclosed.

Investors reacted quickly — Take-Two's shares rose 8.7% on the news, a figure recorded as of November 11. Markets are effectively pricing in what players already sensed from the two trailers and last week's pre-load launch: this is tracking to be one of the biggest entertainment releases ever, following a GTA V that has sold more than 230 million copies according to Take-Two's own investor reports.

For players, the takeaway is less about stock charts and more about launch night itself. Pre-order demand running far above a publisher's own expectations means crowded digital stores, busy servers and long download queues on November 19 are a reasonable thing to plan for — pre-load early if you can, and expect the first hours to be hectic.