- Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick says more fans are pre-ordering the Grand Theft Auto 6 Ultimate Edition over the Standard Edition
- He says the sales are "skewing more" to the $100 Ultimate Edition
- Zelnick also can't guarantee whether the game will get a discount for Black Friday or Christmas
According to Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, the Grand Theft Auto 6 Ultimate Edition is selling more than the Standard Edition.
In a recent interview with CNBC (via IGN), when asked whether the pre-order numbers could be equal across both versions, the CEO said the game's $99.99 / £89.99 Ultimate Edition, which features the base game and additional bonus content, is being pre-ordered by more fans than the $79.99 / £69.99 Standard Edition.
"Actually, it is skewing more to the premium edition," Zelnick said, and suggested that it may be a result of die-hard fans pre-ordering it. "That might be a reflection of the fact that the most avid consumers are the ones who are pre-ordering now."
We don't have the actual sales numbers at this time, but if what Zelnick said is accurate, it suggests the Ultimate Edition is performing extremely well despite the initial backlash from fans.
When Rockstar Games announced the editions in June alongside pre-orders, fans called out the studio for its "scummy" tactics, which see exclusive content locked behind the game's Ultimate Edition. It's understood that a separate upgrade will be available at some point for those who purchase the Standard Edition, but Rockstar has yet to announce the add-on.
Unlike the Standard Edition, which comes with the base game, the more expensive Ultimate Edition features a ton of extra goodies, including premium and exclusive content such as missions, Vice City shops, locations, and outfits.
GTA 6 launches on November 19, before Black Friday and Christmas, and in the same interview with CNBC, Zelnick was asked whether we could see a discount on the upcoming game.
The CEO couldn't say, but explained that GTA 5's price was "preserved" for years, saying, "We obviously establish our pricing, and storefronts can do what they wish."
"We don't have any capability to control that," Zelnick continued. "So if they reduce their price, they reduce their margin on the sale. There are situations where certain retailers will price down to drive demand for other things they will sell. I can't tell you what will happen. I will tell you we preserved our pricing on Grand Theft Auto 5 for a very long time, much longer than a standard release of an entertainment property."
During Take-Two's most recent earnings report, the Rockstar parent company reported earnings of $1.39 billion during GTA 6's pre-order period, which Zelnick called an "exceptional start to pre-orders."
Fans can also look forward to 'Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look,' which will premiere on Netflix on August 27.
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