GTA 6 poised to break Rockstar sales record, but there's one game it'll never defeat

Grand Theft Auto 6 launches next week for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and while it’s expected to shatter records it still won’t be known as the highest-selling game of all-time.

Rockstar Games’ parent-company Take-Two Interactive released some new sales figures this week, and GTA VI has clearly made the company heaps of money already.

Over the last quarter, sales for both Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 have increased by the millions, with the latter now being the third highest-selling video game of all time. GTA V maintains second place.

We’re all expecting GTA VI to beat this, though keep in mind that GTA V has had three separate launches across three console generations, so it might be a while until the new game catches up.

However, there’s one game GTA VI is never going to surpass though, no matter how hard it tries…

GTA 6 highest-selling game status is unattainable as the competition is too steep

Determining the highest-selling game of all time is a bit complicated as there are two ways of looking at it, but what’s certain is it’ll never be a game developed by Rockstar.

Tetris is widely considered the worldwide best-seller because there are so many different versions and re-releases.

Since the original release in 1984 there have been dozens of ways to play so it’s easy to see how it’s sold over 520 million copies.

But, is that an unfair comparison? If we want to be more reasonable about it, Minecraft is the same ongoing game, just re-released across multiple platforms.

Altogether it sold over 450 million copies, which is leagues ahead of both GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 combined.

In its first year GTA VI will probably boot Red Dead Redemption 2 out of third place, but take a little longer to catch up to GTA V’s total sales.

Even when it gets its inevitable PC launch however, and its likely re-release on Xbox’s Project Helix and the PS5, it’ll never be able to catch up to the likes of Tetris and Minecraft. It’s genuinely impossible.

Is GTA 6 eligible for the 2026 Game Awards?

While it probably won’t go down in history as the best-selling game of all time, it’ll certainly be known as one of the most-impactful.

The cut-off date for games that can be considered for the 2026 Game Awards is November 20, which is a lucky break for GTA VI which releases the day before, November 19.

Gamers are expecting it to sweep the ceremony and make off with plenty of trophies, including the coveted title of Game of the Year. It’s not a shoe-in though as competition remains high. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for instance is 2026’s best-rated game.

Given its prestige though it’ll likely do well, as will the total sales despite it being exclusive to expensive new-gen hardware.

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