Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick tells CNBC the Ultimate Edition is ahead of the standard one. He gives no number, and explains why it proves little.
Photo: Rockstar Games
Sources me.ign.com · numerama.com · fr.ign.com · pcgamer.com
One number is missing, and that is the whole point of the story. In an interview with CNBC relayed by IGN, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says players are preordering GTA 6's Ultimate Edition more than the standard one. Numerama specifies the interview appeared on August 10. No volume is given for either edition.
Zelnick tempers it himself. The preference may reflect, he says, that "the most passionate consumers are the ones preordering right now", which Numerama translates plainly: the most impatient are those willing to pay more. The bias is in the method. Anyone preordering in midsummer, without a single minute of gameplay seen, is not an average buyer. It would be unwise to conclude everyone will choose the Ultimate at launch.
The next day, PC Gamer reports Zelnick's words to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. The volume of preorders is so unprecedented that Take-Two "can't tell whether they mean anything". Current demand could be a "pull forward of sales that otherwise would materialize in the fullness of time", and the raw numbers "could potentially be misleading". The publisher keeps them to itself while declaring itself delighted: per Numerama, preorders exceed expectations. He declined to say anything about the August 27 Extended Look except that it will be worth watching.
As a reminder, the Ultimate adds access to five shops, exclusive vehicles and cosmetic items, with no early access to the game. The content differences are detailed on the prices page.
Prices have not moved: 79.99 € for the standard edition, 99.99 € for the Ultimate, and a The Goodtime State collector at 399.99 €, sold without the game. GTA VI launches on November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with preload on November 12 and a PEGI 18 rating. No PC version is announced.
Scientifically, this statement is a good example of unusable data: a ranking without sample sizes, observed on a self-selecting population. It still says a lot about strategy. The 79.99 € entry price makes headlines, but Take-Two knows the core audience readily climbs to 99.99 €. If you hesitate, look at what you actually get, not at what others buy.
Sources me.ign.com · numerama.com · fr.ign.com · pcgamer.com
By Daniel Jasner · VI Countdown newsroom, OKALAM Studio