GTA 6 Reportedly Hit $3 Billion and 39 Million Preorders in 24 Hours

The numbers coming out of GTA 6's preorder launch are almost hard to process. According to widely circulated industry reports, GTA 6 racked up roughly $3 billion in revenue and around 39 million preorders in its first 24 hours, with the opening wave reportedly selling out in about an hour as demand hammered storefronts worldwide. If those figures hold, this is the fastest any entertainment product has ever reached $3 billion, games, movies, TV, and music included. One important caveat up front: these numbers are reported estimates, not official figures from Rockstar or Take-Two. Here is what is being claimed, and how seriously to take it.

The reported numbers

The headline figures from the first day of GTA 6 preorders, which opened at midnight on June 25, are staggering:

• Around 39 million preorders in the first 24 hours.
• Roughly $3 billion in estimated revenue.
• The first preorder wave sold out in about an hour, with the crush of demand causing notable server strain.

Some later reports have pushed the figures even higher, with estimates climbing past 50 million preorders and more than $4 billion in the days since. The exact number moves depending on the source, but the scale of the story does not: this is the largest launch demand the industry has ever seen.

How it compares to GTA 5 and everything else

To grasp how enormous this is, line it up against the previous king. GTA 5 earned about $800 million on its first day in 2013 and crossed $1 billion within three days, which at the time made it one of the fastest entertainment products in history to a billion dollars.

GTA 6 reportedly tripled that in a single day, before the game has shipped a single playable copy. We put the two games side by side in our GTA 5 vs GTA 6 sales breakdown, and the gap is not close. The wider context lives in our GTA 6 launch records breakdown.

The prediction came true, and then some

The most striking part is that this was called in advance. Insider Tom Henderson predicted GTA 6 could make $1 billion in its first hour of preorders, a claim that sounded aggressive at the time. The reported 24-hour total blew past it. The earlier day-one billion-dollar projection now reads as conservative.

The math behind it is simple. At the confirmed $80 standard price, roughly 39 million copies works out to a little over $3 billion before you even count the buyers who paid $100 for the Ultimate Edition. The estimate is aggressive, but it is internally consistent.

The big caveat: none of it is official

Here is the part to keep front of mind. Rockstar and Take-Two have not released any official preorder figures. Every number in circulation, the 39 million, the $3 billion, the higher 50-million estimates, comes from media reports, analysts, and industry trackers, not from the companies themselves.

Publishers usually confirm milestone numbers on their own schedule, often in an earnings call or a celebratory press release. Until Take-Two puts a figure on the record, treat these totals as strong, widely reported estimates rather than confirmed facts. The direction is not in doubt. The precise number is.

The strange twist: the stock dipped anyway

For all the record demand, there was an odd footnote. Take-Two's stock actually slipped after the preorder reveal, with some of the market reacting to the price, the no-disc physical edition, and the single-player-only launch rather than the demand. When even a reported $3 billion day is met with a stock dip, it tells you how impossibly high expectations for this game have climbed.

The bottom line

If the reports are accurate, GTA 6 just posted the biggest 24-hour debut in entertainment history: about $3 billion and 39 million preorders, with the first wave gone in an hour. The figure is unofficial until Take-Two confirms it, so hold the exact total loosely. But the story it tells is real. The most anticipated game ever is converting that anticipation into numbers no release has come close to, five months before it even launches.

Sources

• Mezha — GTA 6 racked up 39 million preorders and around $3 billion in 24 hours
• Gagadget — GTA VI preorders reportedly hit 39 million copies and $3 billion in one day
• Primetimer — GTA 6 reportedly over 50M preorders and $4B in estimated revenue
• Yahoo Finance — GTA 6 preorders send Take-Two stock down as price and launch details disappoint