GTA 6 US digital pre-orders 148% ahead of MW2, Sensor Tower says
Sensor Tower data shows GTA 6 US digital pre-orders running 148% ahead of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, with over 6.45 million copies pre-ordered.
Rumour. An unverified leak or claim. Treat it with caution until Rockstar speaks.
GTA 6 is drawing more pre-orders than any game of the past six years, and the gap is wide. Analytics firm Sensor Tower tracked US digital storefronts from 149 days before launch to 45 days before launch. Over that window, Grand Theft Auto VI pulled in 148% more pre-orders than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 did over the same stretch, according to Rockstar Intel, which reported the figures on October 21. The 2022 Call of Duty had held the top spot in this comparison until GTA 6 arrived.
The comparison chart came from GamesIndustry.biz. Neither Rockstar Games nor Take-Two has confirmed any of these numbers, so treat them as third-party estimates, not official sales data.
What the numbers say
The Sensor Tower data, as Rockstar Intel describes it, includes a few more details:
- Total pre-orders: more than 6.45 million US digital pre-orders as of the week of October 21, worth an estimated $630 million.
- Weekly pace: over $36 million in pre-orders in the latest week, or about 380,000 copies. That was $4 million more than the week before, so demand was still climbing a month out from launch.
- Ultimate Edition: the pricier edition is doing well on its own. Its pre-orders are reportedly more than double Modern Warfare 2's and not far behind the base game.
- Platform split: Xbox's share of pre-orders rose by one percentage point over two weeks, to 26%. PlayStation 5 accounts for the rest.
Rockstar Intel says both GTA 6 editions are far ahead of other big launches in the comparison: Diablo 4, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and The Last of Us Part II. All of them sold well before release, and none came close here.
Modern Warfare 2 is a demanding benchmark. Rockstar Intel notes that it took $800 million in its opening weekend. The site also says GTA 6's pre-order revenue is already close to what GTA 5 made in its first 24 hours.
The fine print
There's a big limit on this data. Sensor Tower only tracks digital pre-orders in the United States. Boxed copies from retailers are not counted, and neither is any country outside the US. Rockstar Intel argues the US figures are still a fair guide, because the US is the largest market for most of these games and most copies are bought digitally. Still, the 6.45 million figure covers only part of global demand.
The percentages also compare one fixed window before each game's launch. They are not lifetime sales, so they tell you how fast demand built up, not how many copies each game will sell in the end.
What it means for launch
For players, the numbers point to a very busy launch. GTA 6 arrives on November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. That much demand will put pressure on download servers and storefronts when the game unlocks. Pre-loading is the safe bet for anyone who has already bought.
Sensor Tower's numbers covered the period up to 45 days before release. Rockstar Intel's report suggests weekly sales were still rising, so the final pre-order total is likely to be higher. The first official sales figures will probably come from Take-Two after launch, which will be the first real test of these estimates. Before that, reviews are reportedly embargoed until November 18, the day before release.
