Take-Two says GTA VI preorders 'unprecedented' as bookings fall 18%
Take-Two said Monday that Grand Theft Auto VI preorders are at "unprecedented levels" 10 days before the Nov. 19 launch, even as September-quarter bookings fell 18% to $1.60 billion. It kept its $8.0 billion to $8.2 billion full-year forecast.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
Take-Two Interactive, the publisher behind Grand Theft Auto, said Monday that preorders for Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) are "continuing to reach unprecedented levels" with the game 10 days from its Nov. 19 launch. CEO Strauss Zelnick said the company expects "an historic year."
The quarter itself was soft: Net bookings, the company's main sales measure, fell 18% to $1.60 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30, from $1.96 billion a year earlier. That missed the $1.67 billion analysts expected, according to Reuters. Take-Two blamed NBA 2K27, which sold below its own forecast in a crowded September, GamesBeat reported. The company posted a net loss of $54.0 million, or 29 cents a share, narrower than last year's $133.9 million loss.
The outlook: Take-Two kept its forecast of $8.0 billion to $8.2 billion in net bookings for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027. For the December quarter, which includes about six weeks of GTA VI sales, it guided to $3.35 billion to $3.50 billion. Analysts had expected about $3.51 billion, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
Why it matters
GTA VI is the first new Grand Theft Auto in about 13 years, and Take-Two is counting on it to carry this year. A year ago the company booked about $1.9 billion in the December quarter, GamesBeat noted. The new outlook is $1.45 billion to $1.6 billion higher, or roughly 76% to 84% more, with most of the increase expected from GTA VI.
More context
Preorder data: GTA VI had about 7.71 million digital preorders worldwide as of Nov. 3, according to Sensor Tower data cited by Reuters, for an estimated gross of more than $750 million. The standard edition costs $79.99, Reuters noted, one of the highest base prices in the industry.
On the call: "It makes me nervous even saying those words," Zelnick said of the strong early signs. "But they are true, and we still aren't ready to declare victory." He confirmed Rockstar has finished the game, and said GTA V has now sold more than 235 million copies, GamesBeat reported. Asked about a reported $1.5 billion development budget, he said the company has not discussed budgets.
The stock: Shares swung after the report. Reuters first said they were down about 4% in extended trading, and a later Reuters version and GamesBeat had them up after Zelnick's comments. Before Monday, the stock was down more than 17% this year, according to Reuters.
What's still unknown: How many copies GTA VI sells in its first days, since Take-Two declined to raise its forecast until after launch, and whether early sales push the company above its $8.2 billion top end.
4 listed sources
- Take-Two Interactive, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Reports Results for Fiscal Second Quarter 2027, Nov. 9, 2026
- Reuters via Investing.com, Take-Two projects third-quarter bookings below estimates, Nov. 9, 2026
- Reuters via U.S. News & World Report, Take-Two lifts annual revenue, profit forecasts ahead of 'GTA VI' launch, Nov. 9, 2026
- GamesBeat, All the takeaways about GTA VI from the Take-Two earnings call, Nov. 9, 2026
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
Bookings, revenue, loss and outlook figures come from Take-Two's Nov. 9 earnings release. Analyst estimates (LSEG) and the Sensor Tower preorder count are from Reuters. Call quotes and the GTA V unit count are from GamesBeat's account of the analyst call. Reuters and GamesBeat reported different after-hours share moves as trading swung; neither is a closing price. The year-over-year comparison for the December quarter is US Brief arithmetic from the figures cited. The hero photo shows Rockstar North's Edinburgh studio (file photo, 2023), not a launch event.
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