GTA 6 to drive console sales despite hiked prices, Take-Two predicts

Ninth generation console prices are higher than they've ever been, yet Grand Theft Auto 6 is still expected to help elevate hardware sales throughout the holiday period.

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GTA 6 is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. Analysts predict the game will sell tens of millions of copies on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and now Take-Two management has commented on its views on GTA 6's wider industry-level effects.

In a recent interview between The Game Business and Take-Two execs CEO Strauss Zelnick, company CFO Lainie Goldstein quickly interjected with a simple but meaningful response on the topic of console price increases. "We do think GTA 6 will drive console sales," she said.

This is the expectation from all accounts, and even fans think GTA 6 will be bigger than anything else that came before it.

Take-Two's comments also bring to mind speculation that Sony could have secured a marketing deal for a GTA 6 PS5 bundle, perhaps a special edition. Or maybe just a bundle, like when Red Dead Redemption 2 came with select PS4 Pro bundles at launch.

Both the PS5 and Xbox Series are facing issues, at least in recent quarters. Xbox revenues were at the all-time lowest point of the generation last quarter, and PS5 shipments also dwindled to the lowest point of the system's launch.

GTA 6 will contribute mightily to Take-Two's expected $8.1 billion earnings for FY27, the company predicts, however there have been no sales forecasts.

Analysts believe that GTA 6 could cost a flat $80 at launch, introducing a new baseline price bump of +$10 to the ninth generation. If this happens, it will be the second software price increase that happened in this console generation.

Experts also believe that GTA 6 to sell double-digit multi-million sales, with Morgan Stanley expecting the game to hit 40 million sales in just 4 months.