Xbox Downplays GTA 6's Massive PS5 Pre-Order Numbers
Overview & Key Takeaways
Xbox's executives respond to reports that GTA 6 on PS5 is vastly outselling the game on Microsoft's hardware platform.
Sony has basically spent the last year acting as if Grand Theft Auto 6 is a PlayStation 5 exclusive. Rockstar's open-world action game isn't a platform exclusive, of course: it's coming to Xbox, and perhaps eventually, to PC. Still, with so much pomp and circumstance on PlayStation — and estimates that the PS5 version of GTA 6 is vastly outperforming its competition — one might wonder how leaders at Xbox are feeling about the game's imminent release.
The game is expected to sell well on all platforms, but the Xbox brand is in a tough spot at the moment. Layoffs, studio consolidation, controversial subscription changes, and multiple price hikes suggest that Xbox is in the middle of some major turmoil. With few potential Xbox hits on the immediate horizon, there's arguably more pressure for GTA 6 to carry the platform during the final stretch of 2026.
GTA 6's marketing isn't helping Xbox. Rockstar's major trailers, as well as its extended look on Netflix, all carry the disclaimer that the footage was recorded on PS5. Sony seems like it is pushing GTA 6 harder than its own first-party games. Anticipation for GTA 6 has led to a shortage of PS5 Pro hardware, and the platform's exclusive DualSense controller has become a scalper favorite.
More recently, The Verge reported sources say GTA 6 pre-orders are "heavily skewed" toward the PS5, and that the situation was "ringing yet more alarm bells about the platform."
Xbox might be sweating behind closed doors, but in front of the public, leaders at the brand are putting on a strong face. Chief Strategy Officer at Xbox, Matthew Ball, responded to The Verge's article on X by saying that the brand was "very happy" with its GTA 6 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," he continued. An Xbox spokesperson made a similar claim about GTA 6 pre-orders earlier in 2026, and urged the public to wait for "real" data after the game comes out.
Ball may be telling the truth, but it might come with an asterisk. The gaming industry is experiencing a downturn, but even within that context, Xbox's hardware sales aren't doing so great. *GTA 6'*s pre-orders could match Xbox's market share, but that doesn't necessarily mean the game is selling well on the platform. The question is, what market share does Xbox have?
