GTA 6 Delivers a Major Sales Boost for PS5 and Xbox Series

GTA 6 isn't even out yet, but it's already leading to sold-out console shelves. The reason is the 27-minute "Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look" clip, which was released exclusively on Netflix on August 27th and, according to streaming charts, had already amassed 31.1 million views by August 30th – ranking first in 87 out of 93 evaluated countries.

How much have console sales really increased?

According to market research data from NielsenIQ, reported by Eurogamer among others, PS5 sales in the UK increased by 33 percent in the week following the release, and Xbox Series X|S sales even by 34 percent. These figures relate to the British market, for which detailed weekly trade data is available – while a direct conclusion about the global market cannot be drawn from this, the trend is likely to be similar.

What does this mean for those looking to buy a console now?

Practically speaking: Anyone currently looking to buy a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S in the UK will find it challenging. At Sony's official UK store and several major retailers, PS5 models were temporarily completely sold out, with the PS5 Pro selling out particularly quickly. On eBay, third-party sellers offered the model for up to $1,500 USD – significantly above MSRP. So, if you don't urgently need a new console right away, you should either be patient or be prepared to dig deep into your pockets.

The comparison to previous hype waves is interesting: In the past, major trailer drops for other AAA titles also led to short-term sales peaks for hardware, but these were usually significantly less pronounced and without genuine supply bottlenecks. The fact that a single marketing video for a game that hasn't even been released yet can noticeably disrupt an entire national hardware market shows how exceptionally high expectations for GTA 6 have become. NielsenIQ itself, however, points out that while the temporal correlation between the trailer and the sales surge is striking, other factors such as inventory levels or seasonal discount campaigns have not been separately accounted for.

Rockstar will undoubtedly register these figures with satisfaction: Every additional console sold is potentially an additional day-one buyer for GTA 6 itself. Anyone interested in the background of the marketing campaign can also find a great example of the waves of hype surrounding the game in our report on the Turkish fans who professionally dubbed the gameplay reveal.