Microsoft has stepped in to address a report that claimed GTA 6 preorders are “heavily skewed” toward PlayStation 5 over Xbox Series X and S.
In a report about this week’s layoffs and studios reorganization at Xbox, The Verge’s Tom Warren said the PS5’s dominance over GTA 6 preorders was “ringing yet more alarm bells” about Xbox as a platform.
However, Xbox CSO Matthew Ball insisted that Microsoft was “very happy” with GTA 6 preorders, and that its internal data showed preorders were matching “our share of the console market.”
Here’s Ball’s statement in full:
“Tom, 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 preorders to be matching our share of the console market.”
While Sony does announce PS5 sales, Microsoft hasn’t announced a number for Xbox Series X and S sales in years. As of June 30, PS5 had sold more than 95 million units. Analysts have suggested the combined Xbox Series range is being outsold by the PS5 by at least a factor of 2:1. If that ratio holds true, there are likely twice as many GTA 6 preorders for PS5 than for Xbox Series X and S.
Sony and Rockstar Games’ partnership for GTA 6 wil be having a big impact on preorders, too. Sony has leaned heavily into GTA 6, which you can understand given we’re talking about a video game that is expected to break sales records and spark a surge in console sales. This has led to GTA 6 gameplay focusing on the PS5 version, the PS5 showing up in marketing materials for GTA 6, and even a custom GTA 6 UI for Sony’s console.
Sony has published blog posts talking about the features of the PS5 that GTA 6 will use, such as the speaker in the DualSense controller and the pad’s haptic feedback. Other additions to GTA 6’s PS5 marketing campaign include a version of the PlayStation app logo on smartphones that features GTA 6 colors and pale tree fronds. So, with PlayStation’s partnership in full swing, preorders being “heavily skewed” toward PS5 shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.
The Verge’s report also suggested that the Xbox “reset,” led by new CEO Asha Sharma, might be about making Xbox easier to spin off or operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, as has been suggested by prior reports elsewhere.
GTA 6 launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S only on November 19.
Wesley Yin-Poole
Director, News
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].