Xbox pushes back on the meaning of GTA 6's PS5-heavy preorders

Microsoft has responded to reporting that Grand Theft Auto VI preorders are “heavily skewed” toward PlayStation 5, arguing that the raw platform split does not tell the whole story.

Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said the company is “very happy” with preorders and that the game is already breaking Xbox records. More importantly, he said Microsoft's internal analysis shows Xbox's share of preorders matching its share of the console market.

That is a narrower defense than saying Xbox and PlayStation are taking equal numbers of orders. PS5 has a much larger installed base, so a proportional split could still leave Sony with considerably more GTA 6 preorders in absolute terms.

Two claims, no public totals

The disagreement began with The Verge's reporting, attributed to Xbox sources, that preorders were heavily tilted toward PS5 and were raising new concerns about Microsoft's hardware business. Ball's response challenges the implied alarm, but it does not supply platform counts or disclose how Microsoft calculated market share.

IGN notes that Microsoft has not announced Xbox Series X and S sales totals in years. Sony, by contrast, had reported more than 95 million PS5 systems sold as of June 30. Analyst estimates cited by IGN put PS5 ahead of the combined Xbox Series line by at least two to one. If that gap is close to reality, a preorder mix that looks lopsided could still be consistent with each platform's existing reach.