Zelnick says GTA 6 presales are way past what Take-Two expected

Insider Gaming picked up on Strauss Zelnick saying GTA 6 presales are coming in "far in excess" of what Take-Two had penciled in. That's the CEO of the whole company saying the numbers are blowing past the internal forecast. Not a vague "we're pleased with the response" line, actual excess over expectations.

Which, honestly, tracks. Pre-orders opened back on June 25 and the internet did its usual thing. Standard at $79.99, Ultimate at $99.99, Vintage Vice City Pack thrown in as the bonus. People were always going to go feral for it.

What I find funny is the idea that anyone at Take-Two could still be surprised at this point. You've got a game that's been the most wanted thing on the planet for years, launching November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. What number were they expecting that reality managed to outrun it?

the forecast was probably built on something sane

My guess is they modelled it off GTA 5's launch and then sanded it down because that game had a 360/PS3 install base to sell into and a decade of momentum behind it. GTA 6 is selling into a smaller pool of current-gen consoles but a much hungrier audience. Different shape of curve entirely.

Far in excess of expectations is a weird thing to hear 9 days out from launch.

No number attached, which is the usual Zelnick move. He'll say the vibes are good and let the earnings call do the talking later. Still, "far in excess" is a stronger phrase than you normally get from a publisher trying to keep investor expectations in check.

I'm curious whether this changes anything on the supply side. Physical copies are already a mess to find in some places, and if presales are genuinely that far ahead of plan, the launch week scramble for discs is going to be rough. Digital buyers are fine, obviously.

Anyway. Nine days. What's your read on this, are you taking "far in excess" at face value or waiting for the actual numbers?

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Source: Insider Gaming · Curated content.