So much for voting with your wallet. Turns out the outrage over GTA 6‘s price tag might be louder than gamers’ spending habits. Rockstar Games drew plenty of criticism after locking exclusive content behind the much more expensive Ultimate Edition. Yet, if the PlayStation Store charts are any indication, many gamers are happily hitting the preorder button anyway.
The game’s preorder was just opened on June 25, but it didn’t take long for GTA 6 to shoot to the top of the PlayStation Store charts across virtually every region. User Red Kong XIX on ResetEra compiled screenshots of PS Store across 49 countries, including the US, Japan, Singapore, and Sweden. It shows that GTA 6 is beating FC 26, Minecraft, and even free-to-play games like Roblox, Fortnite, and Marvel Rivals.
Even more surprising, nearly every storefront lists the $99.99 Ultimate Edition as the chart-topping version, suggesting many are choosing the most expensive GTA 6 over the Standard Edition. The only notable exception appears to be the Taiwan PlayStation Store, where the game can currently only be wishlisted rather than preordered.
While Rockstar and publisher Take-Two haven’t officially announced any milestone, analysts believe the game is already off to a massive start. Anthony Palomba, a researcher at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, estimated the game could generate around $1 billion in preorder revenue before launch.
GTA 6 preorder price itself is $79.99 for the Standard Edition, while the Ultimate Edition comes in at $99.99. Currently, the Ultimate Edition has become somewhat of a lightning rod for criticism because it locks exclusive content behind the massive price tag. Along with bonus vehicles, weapons, and customization options, Rockstar listed that five in-game stores are ‘only open for business’ for Ultimate Edition owners.
That has raised concerns among fans that Rockstar is setting a new precedent for AAA games. After all, $80 releases are slowly becoming the industry standard as gaming gets more expensive. Critics argue that the company is unnecessarily locking gameplay content behind premium editions.
Still, judging by the PlayStation Store rankings, gamers might have sent Rockstar a very different message than the one filling social media.
