Sensor Tower estimates that nearly nine out of every 10 Grand Theft Auto VI preorders tracked so far are for the game’s more expensive Ultimate Edition, suggesting unusually strong early demand for Rockstar Games’ $99.99 version ahead of launch.

According to data reported by GamesIndustry.biz, 89% of GTA 6 preorders are for the Ultimate Edition rather than the $79.99 Standard Edition. The split is similar across the game’s two confirmed launch platforms. Sensor Tower estimates that 90% of Xbox preorders are for the Ultimate Edition, while the figure stands at 88.5% on PlayStation.

The numbers are estimates from Sensor Tower rather than official unit figures released by Rockstar Games or parent company Take-Two Interactive. Still, the direction of the data lines up with recent comments from Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, who said GTA 6 preorders were skewing toward the premium version. Zelnick did not publicly provide the 89% figure.

What makes the reported split especially unusual is how far it sits above the normal performance of premium game editions.

Karl Kontus, senior vice president and general manager of Video Game Insights at Sensor Tower, told GamesIndustry.biz that premium editions generally benefit from preorder periods because the earliest buyers tend to be a game’s most dedicated fans. Those players are also more likely to spend extra for additional content.

Even with that advantage, Kontus said an edition accounting for roughly 90% of early orders is unlike anything he has previously encountered. According to his industry benchmarks, premium editions typically represent around 10% to 20% of sales, while a 50% premium share during a preorder campaign would already be considered particularly strong.

That makes GTA 6 an extreme outlier, at least among the players buying months before release.

One likely factor is the relatively narrow price gap between the two editions. Rockstar officially prices the Standard Edition at $79.99 and the Ultimate Edition at $99.99, meaning buyers already prepared to spend $80 only need to add another $20 to move to the premium tier.

The Ultimate Edition also offers more than a simple cosmetic upgrade. Rockstar says it includes an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel and additional content tied to Jason and Lucia’s story. The GamesIndustry.biz report also highlights premium perks involving vehicle customization and exclusive in-game locations.

Kontus believes that combination of pricing and added content is helping make the upgrade attractive to GTA 6’s most committed early buyers. In his assessment, the premium package provides enough meaningful in-game material to distinguish it from special editions that rely mainly on minor extras.

That does not necessarily mean 89% of GTA 6 buyers will ultimately choose the Ultimate Edition.

Both Kontus and Zelnick have pointed to the unusually enthusiastic audience participating in the early preorder window. Players placing orders months ahead of launch are not necessarily representative of the much larger audience expected to arrive as Rockstar’s marketing campaign intensifies and the November release approaches.

Kontus expects the Ultimate Edition’s share to decline as more mainstream and price-sensitive consumers enter the market. He suggested that the mix among later buyers could move much closer to an even split between the Standard and Ultimate editions, although he also expects the premium version to remain unusually strong by industry standards.

Forecasting GTA 6 has another complication: there is little precedent for the level of demand surrounding the game.

Sensor Tower’s GTA 6 sales tracker was showing approximately 4.3 million preorders at the time of the GamesIndustry.biz report. Of those tracked preorders, 77% were attributed to PlayStation and 23% to Xbox. Those percentages describe the overall platform split and should not be confused with the separate figures showing which edition buyers are choosing on each platform.

Kontus cautioned against simply extending a normal game’s preorder trajectory to GTA 6. Applying conventional patterns to the current numbers could produce extremely high projections that he does not consider reliable because the game’s early demand appears heavily front-loaded.

Instead, he raised roughly 25 million preorders by launch as one possible ballpark, while stressing how difficult the title is to forecast. That figure is not an official Rockstar target or confirmed sales projection.

Take-Two has expressed similar caution. Zelnick has described the level of GTA 6 preorders as unprecedented, while also acknowledging that the company does not yet have a reliable historical comparison for determining exactly how that early demand will translate into the game’s eventual sales performance.

For now, the clearest signal is not a final sales forecast but the behavior of GTA 6’s earliest customers. Sensor Tower’s reported 89% Ultimate Edition share suggests Rockstar has convinced a remarkably large portion of that audience to spend an additional $20 before launch.

Whether that premium preference survives once millions of more casual players begin making their purchasing decisions will be one of the more revealing trends to watch as GTA 6 approaches release.

Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

ARTICLE CREDIT:

News story written by Mike Lima.

Source/Further reading:

Primary source/reference link: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sensor-tower-89-of-gta6-preorders-are-for-the-100-ultimate-edition