GTA 6 Pre-Orders Are 148% Higher Than Call of Duty — New Report Reveals
Note: This article covers reported pre-order data from Sensor Tower. Rockstar has not officially commented on the figures.
Search interest in GTA 6 pre-orders and GTA 6 sales has climbed sharply over the past week, ever since the analytics firm Sensor Tower published a new report on the pre-launch commercial performance of Rockstar's next release — and the numbers explain why. The data shows GTA VI outperforming every other major release of the last six years when the comparison is made across the same pre-launch window, and for most of those games the gap is not remotely close — several of the industry's biggest recent launches trail by multiples rather than percentage points. What follows is a plain rundown of what the report actually says: the headline comparison against Modern Warfare 2, the running totals and the weekly trend, how the Ultimate Edition is performing, and the one limitation worth knowing before quoting any of these figures.
The report lands mid-way through the game's busiest marketing stretch: the launch trailer Rockstar dropped in October confirmed the November 19 release date, and Sensor Tower's figures capture demand building in the weeks since.
The Headline Number
According to Sensor Tower's latest report, GTA VI has so far sold 148% more pre-order copies than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) managed over the same window before its own launch. That is the comparison that carries the most weight here, because Modern Warfare 2 was previously the highest pre-ordered game of the past six years — effectively the benchmark that every major release since, from annual shooters to big open-world debuts, has been measured against. It was never a soft benchmark, either: Modern Warfare 2 went on to earn $800 million in its opening weekend alone, which at the time stood as one of the fastest commercial runs the entertainment industry had ever recorded. GTA 6 sales are currently tracking at close to two and a half times that pace, and the game has not yet reached store shelves — which is precisely what makes the comparison worth pausing on, especially given how early we still are in the pre-order period.
The Actual Figures
As of this week, Sensor Tower reports that GTA VI pre-orders have topped 6.45 million copies, generating an estimated $630 million in the process. The running total is striking on its own, but the week-over-week movement is arguably the more telling part of the report, because it shows whether demand is still building toward launch or quietly tapering off, as most pre-order curves eventually do. Last week alone saw $36 million in pre-orders — roughly 380,000 copies — and that weekly figure is up $4 million from the week prior, which is not the direction pre-order numbers usually move this deep into a cycle. A pre-order curve that keeps climbing week over week this close to release is unusual for a title of any size, and it suggests the reported totals are still moving rather than settling into a final number.
The Ultimate Edition Detail
One of the quieter but more significant details in Sensor Tower's chart concerns the GTA 6 Ultimate Edition, the premium version of the game, which is tracking nearly as popular as the base version itself. Taken entirely on its own, apart from the standard edition's numbers, the Ultimate Edition has pre-order figures more than 100% higher than Modern Warfare 2 managed across its comparable run — a remarkable result for a single premium tier. It also dwarfs the other major releases charted in the report — Diablo 4, Hogwarts Legacy, Spider-Man 2, and The Last of Us Part II — none of which came close to matching it.
The Caveat
There is one important limitation to keep in mind before treating any of these numbers as final: the Sensor Tower data only covers digital pre-orders in the US across major digital storefronts. Physical boxed pre-orders and sales made outside the US are not included in the figures at any point, which is a meaningful slice of the global market to leave uncounted. That means the actual worldwide pre-order numbers are likely higher than what has been reported, so the totals above are best read as a baseline for GTA 6 sales rather than a ceiling.
What This Means
If the current pace holds, GTA VI is on track to become one of the biggest entertainment launches in history — not just the biggest in gaming, but across all media. The pre-order figures alone are already approaching GTA V's 24-hour sales numbers, a benchmark that took a full launch day to set, across every storefront and format combined. With demand still rising week over week and the launch window still ahead, the remaining pre-order period gives those totals room to move further before a single consumer has played the finished game.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many pre-orders does GTA 6 have?
Over 6.45 million copies as of this week, according to Sensor Tower.
How much money has GTA 6 made in pre-orders?
An estimated $630 million, based on Sensor Tower's digital US pre-order data.
Is GTA 6 the most pre-ordered game ever?
It's on pace to be, according to Sensor Tower — 148% higher than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the previous record-holder of the past six years.
Does this include physical and international pre-orders?
No. The data covers digital pre-orders in the United States only.
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