Xbox has responded to a claim that PlayStation 5 pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto 6 were potentially outpacing Xbox Series X pre-orders by an 8-to-1 ratio. The highly anticipated Rockstar Games title has apparently had “record orders” for Xbox platforms.
Pre-orders for GTA 6 finally opened on June 25. Just one day later, IGN posted on X that data from IGN Finds, its commerce affiliate program, showed that “PlayStation is outperforming Xbox by a rate of 8-to-1” for those pre-orders. Simply put, people are clicking on more PS5 affiliate links than Xbox Series X links for the game.
Rather than responding to IGN directly on X, Xbox commented on it to Windows Central. “This doesn’t represent pre-order data,” a representative for Xbox told Windows Central. “We’ve had record orders. People should wait for real data and not clicks on affiliate links.”
Xbox argues that, while people may be clicking on affiliate links for PS5 GTA 6 pre-orders eight times more often than for Xbox pre-orders, this does not reflect the actual pre-order ratio. PlayStation, Xbox, and Take Two Interactive have not shared pre-order sales data for GTA 6, so there’s currently no public-facing way to validate either claim.
The Xbox claim that there have been “record orders” for GTA 6 likely means all parties involved are already happy with how the game is selling so far. That statement also allows Xbox to compare itself more favorably to PlayStation at a time when Xbox is actively stoking the flames of the console wars again.
This whole debacle is a reminder to be wary of unofficial sales data for games. GTA 6, in particular, is subject to a lot of rumors and misinformation surrounding its release. People are still debating whether Rockstar is hiding an eventual physical disc release of the game.
Until PlayStation, Xbox, or Take Two officially share sales numbers for GTA 6 following its Nov. 19 launch, we won’t know for sure how the game is performing on a per-platform basis.