Xbox is pushing back on the idea that Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders skewing toward PS5 is bad news for the opposing platform. After a report framed the PlayStation tilt as an alarm bell, Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said the company is "very happy" with its numbers and that the game is "breaking records" for Xbox.
... we are very happy with GTA VI pre-orders. The title is breaking records for XBOX, we expect even more records will be broken throughout the fall, and our internal analysis shows our share of pre-orders to be matching our share of the console market.
Ball argues that we have to look at things from a proportional perspective. Responding directly to the Verge's Tom Warren, he said that Xbox's share of GTA 6 pre-orders matches its share of the overall console market. In other words, Xbox is not losing ground. It is doing about as well as it does everywhere else. He also expects more records to fall through the fall.
The pushback has a point. GTA 6 can't sell more copies on the Xbox than on the PS5 if Sony's latest console has a much larger market share. However, the report isn't entirely wrong. PS5 was always going to lead GTA 6 pre-orders by a wide margin even if there are as many Xbox Series S/X sold as there PS5 and PS5 Pro.
Why? Well, for starters, every trailer has run on a base PS5, Sony has poured money into being the game's main marketing partner and the PS5 Pro is the top way to play it at launch.
All things considered, GTA 6's numbers was always going to skew towards the PS5. If it didn't, then Sony and Rockstar Games has a huge marketing problem on their hands.
So, Xbox's counter is not that PS5 is behind. It is that Xbox's own slice is healthy and in line with its market position.
Why GTA 6 pre-orders lean toward PS5
Factor | Why it favors PlayStation |
|---|---|
Install base | PS5 has sold more units than Xbox this generation |
The trailers | All shown running on a base PS5 |
The best version | The PS5 Pro is the top way to play at launch |
Marketing | Sony has been GTA 6's biggest promotional partner |
The reasons a PS5 pre-order lead was always likely, whatever the exact split.
This doesn't make the debate less interesting, though. Nobody has real sales figures yet. The Verge leans on non-official pre-order numbers while Xbox's answer leans on internal data albeit private. Neither side has published hard numbers. The true split will not be clear until after GTA 6 launches on November 19. This is not the first time Xbox has disputed a viral PS5 pre-order claim, either.
So both things can be true. PS5 is almost certainly ahead on GTA 6 pre-orders, for all the reasons it should be. Xbox is still setting its own records and calling its share solid.
If you are weighing which console to buy it on, the pre-order split matters less than which system you already own. Everyone gets the same game in November, whichever camp is winning the pre-order scoreboard.