GTA 6 Boss Says Pre-Order Demand Is Pretty Strong, but Official Total Remains Concerning

Executives tout strong demand

Speaking on Take-Two’s fiscal second-quarter earnings call on November 9, CEO Strauss Zelnick said pre-orders were “tracking far in excess” of initial expectations. President Karl Slatoff called the level “extraordinary.” Neither executive gave an exact total. That leaves fans and investors without a company-confirmed count of reserved copies.

Estimates are not confirmed totals

Sensor Tower estimated 11.27 million units sold as of November 12. That figure has not been confirmed by Rockstar or Take-Two and should not be treated as a final sales total.

Reuters also cited a Sensor Tower estimate that nearly 90% of pre-orders recorded by late August were for the $99.99 Ultimate Edition, compared with $79.99 for the standard US edition. The estimate reflects reservations at that time, not later activity.

Why pre-orders may mislead

In an earlier Bloomberg interview, Zelnick said Take-Two could not tell whether unusually high pre-orders would predict launch sales. Customers may be buying earlier than they otherwise would, and reservations can be canceled.

Bookings and launch date

Take-Two expects net bookings of $3.35 billion to $3.5 billion for the quarter ending December 31, with GTA 6 expected to account for much of the result. Reuters reported that the forecast is below analysts’ average estimate of $3.51 billion.

Second-quarter net bookings were $1.60 billion, down 18% from a year earlier and below analysts’ $1.67 billion estimate. Take-Two maintained its full-year forecast of $8 billion to $8.2 billion. Rockstar’s official website lists a November 19 release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.