Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball says Grand Theft Auto VI is breaking pre-order records on Xbox, and that Microsoft is very happy with the numbers. Confirmed Posting on X on September 24, he added that Xbox expects more records to fall through the autumn, and that its internal analysis shows Xbox's share of GTA 6 pre-orders matching its share of the console market.
What prompted it
Ball was replying to a report by The Verge's Tom Warren, which said GTA 6 pre-orders were heavily tilted towards PS5 and that this was causing concern. Separate tracking data has suggested PS5 pre-orders outnumber Xbox by more than three to one. Rumor / leak
Reading between the lines
Both things can be true at once. Microsoft no longer publishes hardware sales, and PS5 has sold far more consoles this generation, so a large PlayStation lead is exactly what you would expect even if Xbox owners are pre-ordering at the same rate. Sony is also GTA 6's main marketing partner, and every trailer so far has been captured on PS5.
What Ball didn't share is a single number. "Breaking records for Xbox" most likely means GTA 6 has become the platform's biggest pre-order, which is plausible for a game this size, but there is no way to check it until sales data arrives after launch.
What it means for you
Nothing changes for players. GTA 6 launches on both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19, 2026, at the same price, with pre-loading from November 12.