GTA 6 Presales Are 'Running Far in Excess of Our Expectations,' Take-Two Interactive CEO Says

Nov 10, 2026 - 17:16

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GTA 6 Presales Are 'Running Far in Excess of Our Expectations,' Take-Two Interactive CEO Says

Published Nov 10, 2026, 7:24 AM EST

Ashely currently works as a news writer for Polygon. After getting her Translation degree, she was hired as a guide and news writer for GameRant and TheGamer. She enjoyed working as an author for these sites for six years, and in 2026, she started at Polygon, where she is able to continue to do what she loves: writing about video games.

GTA 6 is so hot, it's hurting Take-Two's other games

A character from GTA 6 sitting on a boat, holding his hands out in surprise with a beer bottle in his right hand

Grand Theft Auto 6 is one of the most anticipated releases of this decade, so it's no surprise that it's selling like hotcakes before it's even out. In this fiscal quarter's earnings presentation, the CEO of developer Take-Two Interactive revealed that pre-orders "are tracking far above initial expectations". However, GTA 6's success might also be the reason Take-Two's other game series failed to meet target sales.

For many, the world will stop on Nov. 19 as gamers enter Leonida for the first time. Players across the globe are preparing to use vacation days for the launch of GTA 6. Some companies are closing stores so their employees can play. Even the United States Army is granting soldiers four days of leave to experience this one-of-a-kind release. The hype around the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 is unprecedented.

GTA 6 pre-orders are so big, they're hurting NBA 2k27

Jason and Lucia from GTA 6 are depicted holding beers while covered in mud.

Pre-sales for GTA 6 went live on Jun. 25, giving players nearly five months to pre-order the game, and it's going even better than anticipated. Take-Two Interactive's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, told Variety that pre-sales are "running far in excess of [company] expectations." While Rockstar Games has yet to confirm these numbers, reports from earlier this month indicated that Grand Theft Auto 6 had sold 8 million copies ahead of launch.

In the fiscal report, Zelnick stated that with pre-orders continuing to "reach unprecedented levels," Take-Two expects to deliver "a historic year." Despite this, the release of GTA 6 might have hindered other Take-Two releases. It's no secret that many publishers deliberately avoided launching their games in November this year, as they knew most eyes would be on GTA 6. That is why so many games came out in September, and as a result, Take-Two's NBA 2K27, which launched on Sept. 9, fell through the cracks and failed to meet sales expectations.

While Zelnick hoped for better results from NBA 2K27, he told Bloomberg that "if your lunch is going to be eaten, I'd rather be the one eating it," fully aware that this is a case of "suffering from success." Even though the sales numbers were below company expectations, it was still the second-biggest launch for Take-Two's basketball game.