Sensor Tower: 89% of GTA 6 Pre-Orders Are for the $100 Ultimate Edition — 'I Have Never Seen a 90% Premium Share Before'

Digital intelligence firm Sensor Tower has released a pre-order analysis for Grand Theft Auto VI that puts a precise number on what Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick had previously described only in general terms. According to Sensor Tower, 89% of GTA 6 pre-orders placed so far are for the $99.99 Ultimate Edition rather than the $79.99 Standard Edition — a split so extreme that it defies easy comparison to any prior release in the firm's dataset. Zelnick noted during a CNBC interview earlier this week that sales were 'skewing more to the Premium Edition,' but Sensor Tower's data puts a stark number to that observation.

The platform-level breakdown reveals near-identical behavior on both consoles: 90% of Xbox Series X|S pre-orders are for the Ultimate Edition, while the figure on PlayStation 5 sits at 88.5%. The consistency across platforms suggests the trend is driven by GTA 6's particular audience rather than anything specific to either storefront or ecosystem. Both figures stand well above what Sensor Tower typically records for premium edition splits on major releases, which historically fall in the 10-to-20 percent range.

Karl Kontus, Sensor Tower's SVP and General Manager of Video Game Insights, offered a frank assessment of the data: 'I have never seen a 90% premium share before,' he said, describing GTA 6 as operating 'in a league of its own' with no industry benchmark adequate for comparison. The reading is consistent with a launch driven at this stage almost entirely by the most dedicated fans — buyers willing to spend $20 more for the exclusive vehicle collection, weapons, and in-game content that come with the Ultimate Edition.

Kontus was careful to note that the current split is unlikely to hold as the marketing cycle intensifies. 'The vast majority of the marketing campaign hasn't kicked off yet, and most of the pre-orders will come in the last week or so pre-launch,' he said, predicting the ratio will gravitate closer to 50/50 once casual buyers enter the market. The Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look premiere on Netflix arrives on August 27 — the event that Zelnick himself has described as merely the opening act of a multi-course marketing campaign still to come.