PlayStation 5 pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto 6 are outselling Xbox Series X/S by a factor of 6-to-1, according to data shared by the IGN Deals account. The margin is even wider than the existing install base gap between Sony and Microsoft's consoles.
Sony has sold 93.7 million PS5 units as of March 31, 2026. Microsoft stopped reporting hardware sales years ago, but estimates put the Xbox Series X/S at roughly 34.7 million. That 2.7-to-1 hardware lead balloons to 6-to-1 when it comes to actual GTA 6 pre-orders, suggesting the game is driving PlayStation adoption harder than it is driving Xbox adoption.
The gap is not accidental. Rockstar and PlayStation struck a marketing deal that emerged when pre-orders opened, with Sony advertising that GTA 6 "Plays Best on PS5" through DualSense haptics and Tempest 3D Audio support.
Microsoft's promotional efforts have been minimal by comparison. Community polling from RockstarINTEL found 70% of voters plan to play on PS5 or PS5 Pro, with only 24% targeting Xbox Series X and 5% on Xbox Series S.
The bigger concern is hardware availability. A major retailer told The Game Business that console supply will not meet GTA 6 demand.
"We've been informed that because of the on-going issues around hardware component availability, we won't be getting the units we want ahead of GTA 6," the unnamed source said. "Demand will likely outstrip supply during the year-end period."
Both Sony and Microsoft have acknowledged shortages in the second half of 2026. Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball told the publication that demand for Xbox consoles exceeds supply and that production faces "severe limitation." Sony's annual PlayStation report warned that hardware component costs have risen so high that the company could lose money on each PS5 sold without another price increase.
Xbox announced a price hike for all Series X/S consoles, taking effect August 1, just months before GTA 6 launches on November 19. The Xbox Series S, previously the budget entry point at $299, now costs $499 -- the same price the more powerful Xbox Series X launched at. That price increase, combined with a near-certain PlayStation price adjustment, means buying a console for GTA 6 will be significantly more expensive than it was for the launch of any previous Grand Theft Auto title.
The Xbox Game Pass factor may also be suppressing Xbox pre-orders. GTA 6 will not launch on the subscription service, and it is unclear if it ever will.
Analysts cited by Metro suggest the subscription model has conditioned some Xbox owners to avoid paying full price for new releases.
Even Sony may not capture the full windfall. According to The Game Business, the bump in PS5 console sales from GTA 6 could be more modest than anticipated, because a retailer told the publication that demand for the Rockstar title will exhaust hardware supplies.
There may simply not be enough consoles to sell, regardless of which brand wins the pre-order war.
