We're still months away from GTA 6, but pre-orders for what's been called the most anticipated singular entertainment release in history have gone live, and the game is living up to its given title by already dominating industry conversation. Rockstar and Take-Two's approach to its pricing, its digital-forward launch, and now the split over which console scoops up most of the launch sales for a new third-party AAA single-player title are all being contested. Which, perhaps unsurprisingly, seems to fall in PlayStation's favour.
This began with IGN surveying its community through its IGN Finds and commerce affiliate linking program, and sharing that data on X (formerly Twitter). According to the data collected by the publication, it claimed GTA 6 sales on PS5 were bounding ahead of those on Xbox, with Team Blue outdoing Team Green "by a rate of 8-to-1." Needless to say, that's an incomplete survey with incomplete results, but IGN's place as a long-standing outlet with a large audience makes the findings partly compelling.
At least they might be compelling to anyone who isn't Xbox. A statement given to Windows Central denies that narrative, claiming the presented results should not be given any weight. "This doesn't represent pre-order data. We've had record orders. People should wait for real data and not clicks on affiliate links."
As the next piece of this story also pointed out, Xbox is bold to speak on 'real data' when the firm has made a habit of not sharing clear-cut sales data. Or any data, to say the least. A problem not exclusive to Xbox, but the platform maker looks toothless by trying to use a layer of transparency that wasn't even on the table to begin with.
Regardless, from one estimate to another, though one that is seemingly more informed, the founder of The Game Business and former manager of GamesIndustry.Biz, Chris Dring, shortly after, presented an estimate of where players buy their big AAA single-player third-party games at launch.
That's based on global sales data from analytics firms GSD and Ampere Analysis, averaged out to present a ballpark figure, Dring says. It's once again not an complete answer, but it is at least casting a much wider net than those who would be inclined to purchase a game through IGN's affiliate links.
What makes these results 'unsurprising,' as stated at the top, is that, at least based on reports of how many console units PlayStation and Xbox have sold, there are far more PS5's in homes across the world than Xbox Series consoles. It would be a shock if PS5 didn't dominate in third-party game sales metrics against Xbox. Not that it'll dominate all of them, but you'd figure it takes home a few wins.
Ultimately, it's not like Rockstar cares where it sells, just that it does, which it will. Some analysts claim it'll hit over 45 million copies sold at launch. A figure that can sound ludicrous, but we still have a lot of time for GTA 6 to get there on pre-order sales alone, from now until November. We'll see what November 19 brings.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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