GTA 6 pre-orders: Xbox sources say PS5 is dominating

Back in June, shortly after pre-orders for GTA 6 went live, it was reported that the PS5 was dominating in pre-orders. Following the report, Microsoft itself clarified that the numbers did not represent true pre-order data. Now, another report claims the numbers are heavily skewed in favour of the Sony console, and this time it's directly from Xbox.

The latest comes from The Verge’s Tom Warren, who cites his sources at Xbox and states, “Grand Theft Auto VI preorders are heavily skewed toward PS5.” This was a small part of the full report that details Xbox’s challenging past couple of years following the most recent layoffs. It does, however, reinstate the original claim of PS5 dominating GTA 6 pre-orders.

There are several reasons why this may be the case. Even though both the Xbox Series and PS5 consoles have seen multiple price hikes, the latter offers better value. Moreover, marketing for GTA 6 has been pretty much exclusively on the PS5. From the gameplay trailers to the Netflix extended look to the “Plays best on the PS5” social media posts, Xbox is nowhere to be seen in the discussion.

Xbox in general has been struggling, and the reset brought on by new CEO Asha Sharma will need to run its course in order for Xbox to make a comeback. Meanwhile, reports of major Game Pass changes, increased pricing, and in-game ads are not helping. It has made some positive moves, though, such as the disc-to-digital program and signing Kojima Productions.