GTA 6 is the most pre-ordered game ever, putting it on track to beat GTA 5's massive sales record

Grand Theft Auto 6 is already making an extraordinary amount of money, and Rockstar Games hasn't even released it yet. New estimates suggest the return to Vice City has generated almost $1 billion in pre-orders, putting it on course to challenge the incredible sales records set by Grand Theft Auto 5.

According to Sensor Tower's latest sales report, GTA 6 has accumulated 9.69 million digital pre-orders across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, generating an estimated $942 million in revenue. That's an enormous figure for a game that doesn't launch until November 19, and would make it the most pre-ordered game in history.

PlayStation accounts for the lion's share, with 7.23 million pre-orders generating approximately $703 million. Xbox contributes another 2.46 million copies and $239 million. That's a 75/25 split between Sony and Microsoft's consoles, with no PC version currently available to pre-order. For some perspective, GTA 5 generated more than $800 million in worldwide retail sales during its first 24 hours following its September 17, 2013 launch. 

Take-Two confirmed the incredible first-day figure at the time, before announcing that the game had passed $1 billion in worldwide retail sales within just three days. It also set a Guinness World Record for the fastest entertainment property to reach that milestone.

GTA 5 has continued selling at an extraordinary pace ever since. During its latest earnings call, the game has now sold nearly 235 million units worldwide.  There is one important distinction here: Sensor Tower's GTA 6 figures are estimates covering digital pre-orders, rather than confirmed sales from Rockstar. 

GTA 5's launch figures, meanwhile, represent actual retail sales. The comparisons aren't quite like-for-like, but they demonstrate just how much anticipation has built around Rockstar's next release. What's particularly impressive is that GTA 6 is approaching these numbers across just two console platforms. Whenever Rockstar eventually brings the game to PC, it could unlock another enormous audience.