GTA 6 On Netflix Led To A 33% PS5 Sales Spike In The UK

GTA 6 Is Already A Console Seller As PS5 And Xbox Sales Skyrocket Thanks To Extended Look PlayStation Published Sep 4, 2026, 4:39 AM EDT Josh Coulson is an editor at TheGamer covering breaking news on everything from colorful platformers to the latest Lego sets. Primarily a news writer since 2018, Josh has covered just about every major game from the past decade. Now an editor, their focus has shifted to being the leading affiliate expert at the site, building relationships between TheGamer and global brands including Mattel, Funko, and The Pokemon Company. Sign in to your TheGamer account The likely hope behind the scenes at PlayStation and Xbox is that, despite several price hikes for their six-year-old consoles, sales for those consoles will be fine, maybe even great, thanks to GTA 6. The first hard evidence that those studios are right to think that has surfaced following the GTA 6 Extended Look on Netflix. We already know how many people tuned in to watch almost 30 minutes of new footage from GTA 6 - more than 30 million people, making it the most-watched thing on Netflix last week. Now we know that a lot of those people were convinced to buy a console they’ll need to play GTA 6 when it releases on November 19. Console Sales Spike Thanks To GTA 6 On Netflix According to The Game Business (via VGC), Nielsen HQ data confirms sales of new consoles surged in the UK directly after the Extended Look. PS5 sales went up by 33%, while Xbox Series X|S sales enjoyed an even bigger uptick, rising by 34%. The raw numbers weren’t provided, but that still probably means more PS5s were sold since its pre-Extended Look numbers would have been higher. We already knew that a significant chunk of people were convinced to go out and buy a new console after being shown more of GTA 6 due to the widespread PS5 Pro sellouts. Even though the footage was shown on a PS5, likely to make sure the most casual fans of all who don’t own a console yet know that GTA 6 will work just fine on a system that was released in 2020, either a lot of people without a console decided to pay the extra for a Pro, or, despite how good it looks on PS5, people with the base console have gone ahead and bought the upgraded model anyway. Even Xbox Is Benefiting Despite GTA's PlayStation-Heavy Marketing It’s noteworthy that Xbox sales have risen significantly too, considering how GTA 6 has been marketed thus far. Between the “plays best on PS5” ad campaign and now the official GTA 6 DualSense controllers, there are probably quite a few people out there who don’t even realize you’ll be able to play Rockstar’s next game on an Xbox. There will be a lot of people at PlayStation and Xbox breathing a huge sigh of relief right about now. The increase prices and wait for GTA 6 approach is already paying off, and that’s only going to improve once the game finally gets here and the most casual audience of all sees it on store shelves. The problem is, what happens after GTA 6? Even the next biggest games after GTA are distant seconds when it comes to their power to convince people to buy consoles. If you thought the console sales declines were bad this year, they’ll be a drop in the ocean compared to the downward trend we’ll experience in 2027 with no GTA to swoop in and save the day. Especially when there’s a strong possibility those consoles cost even more by then. Systems Released November 19, 2026 ESRB Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+ Developer(s) Rockstar Games Publisher(s) Rockstar Games Engine Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) Genre(s) Action, Adventure