The much-anticipated sequel will undoubtedly be the most important video game release of this year.
Analysts are expecting Grand Theft Auto 6 to be a massive money maker when it launches later this year, with the franchise’s sixth instalment already projected to bring in a whopping €1 billion through pre-orders.
The game is scheduled for release in autumn of this year, however, considering that it has already been pushed back numerous times, fans are taking that with a pinch of salt.
Regardless, that hesitancy looks as though it won’t get in the way of millions of people ordering the game in advance of its release.
According to market research firm DFC Intelligence, GTA 6 could make $1 billion just in pre-orders.
The company told the Financial Times that it expects GTA 6 to generate $3.2 billion in revenue in its first 12 months on the market.
Not only is this twice as much as GTA 5 made in the same timeframe, but it’s also far more than any movie that came out in 2024.
For comparison’s sake, the highest grossing movie last year was Inside Out 2 at almost $1.7 billion at the box office.
This would easily make GTA 6 one of the biggest launches in all of entertainment, not just video games.
Yoshio Osaki, chief executive of IDG Consulting, even says as much, adding: “The pent-up demand is greater than anything we’ve seen before.”
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While GTA 5 has made more than $8.5 billion in revenue in its entire lifetime, it’s entirely possible GTA 6 could exceed that if these predictions prove accurate.
Even though the projections look very favourable for Rockstar, the publisher’s CEO has decided to stay calm and play things down a little bit.
Strauss Zelnick told FT: “I never claim victory before it occurs” – which sounds like a sensible way to look at things, even if GTA 6 looks guaranteed to be a resounding success for the company.
