Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders at French retailer CDiscount hit six times the combined volume of EA Sports FC and Call of Duty in just 24 hours, adding to a growing body of evidence that demand is on a whole other level.
French retailer CDiscount, as reported by Rockstarmag, says Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders blew past its usual numbers for the biggest annual franchises. Claiming that it only took 24 hours for the next Grand Theft Auto to record six times more pre-orders than a typical pre-order period for major annual franchises like EA Sports FC, formerly known as FIFA, and Call of Duty.
A 6-to-1 figure sounds enormous, and it is, confirming the earlier numbers posted by IGN Finds, and basically proving that Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick was right by defending why GTA will never be an annual franchise.
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For context, Call of Duty and EA Sports FC are two of the most reliable and massive annual franchises in gaming. They sell tens of millions of copies every year, like clockwork. So when a retailer says GTA 6 pre-orders ran six times higher than those titles, it is saying GTA 6 is outpacing the established annual giants by a wide margin, at least at this one store.
This is especially surprising considering that we're in the middle of football season with the World Cup ongoing.
GTA 6 Pre-Orders vs FIFA and Call of Duty
| Detail | What CDiscount Said |
|---|---|
The figure | 6x more pre-orders than usual for major franchises |
The comparison | Against EA Sports FC and Call of Duty |
The window | First 24 hours of pre-orders |
Peak traffic | Midnight, when pre-orders opened |
The scope | One French retailer, not a global figure |
GTA 6 pre-orders hit 6x the usual numbers for the biggest annual franchises.
This is not an outlier claim that stands alone. It lines up with the earlier report of PS5 pre-orders running 6 to 1 over Xbox, with retailers warning of console shortages driven by demand, and with Take-Two stock climbing on pre-order news. When multiple independent indicators all point in the same direction, a French retailer's 6x figure is less a surprise and more a confirmation.
A 6x figure over Call of Duty and EA Sports FC, two games that define "annual blockbuster," is a sign that GTA 6 is not just another big release. It is operating on a different tier of demand entirely, which we have been documenting all the way back to the trailer view records.
Of course, a 13-year-in-the-making release spikes higher than a yearly franchise on launch day, and it's not like every company can afford to have unlimited budget and have an annual money-making online component in Grand Theft Auto Online, to boot.
Take this as another to add to a growing list of confirmations. The game is huge. We already knew that. Now we're starting to get the numbers to prove this.
We'll likely find out more about the actual number closer to the next Take-Two earnings call in August.