GTA 6 release and pre-order figures, Digi Mart USA News: More than 13 years after the last installment, fans are preparing for the release of Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19, 2026. Millions of pre-orders and unusually high vacation requests show how large the anticipation has become.
The game is scheduled to become playable at midnight local time on November 19. It will initially launch exclusively for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
No PC version has been announced, although rumors suggest one is already in development.
The story is set in the fictional U.S. state of Leonida, centered on the metropolis of Vice City, which is reminiscent of Miami.
The main characters, Jason and Lucia, become entangled in a wide-ranging conspiracy after a failed robbery.
As in earlier entries, the open world offers car theft, underworld missions and high-speed chases. Much of its appeal, however, lies in everyday details, such as optional yoga sessions, barbershop visits and frustrating rush-hour traffic accompanied by poor radio advertising.
The series has long been known for satirizing American consumer culture, television and political conflicts, and developers reportedly conducted research trips through Florida to build a credible setting.
According to market research firm Sensor Tower, GTA 6 had been pre-ordered about 7.71 million times worldwide by early November, equivalent to roughly $751 million in revenue. About 74 percent of those pre-orders were attributed to PlayStation.
These figures are estimates and not official sales data, and Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two have not published specific pre-order numbers.
For comparison, Take-Two says its predecessor, GTA 5, released in 2013, has sold more than 230 million copies.
In the United States, personnel services firm BambooHR analyzed vacation requests from more than 3.4 million U.S. employees.
For November 19, the request rate was about 13 percent higher than on comparable November days in the two previous years. In a separate survey of 1,530 full-time U.S.
employees, 18 percent said they planned to take time off for the release, with the share higher among younger workers. About half of those planning to take leave for a gaming release said they would rather call in sick than request vacation in advance.
The source notes that comparable reliable data for Germany is not currently available.
