Grand Theft Auto 6 could make US$3–5 billion in the next week. Here’s how games make so much money

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The video game looks set to make double the money of one of the biggest films of all time.

This Thursday’s release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (better known to fans simply as GTA 6) is one of the most hotly anticipated video game releases, with a huge amount of money riding on its launch.

Analysts estimate GTA 6 could generate $US3–5 billion in global sales in just its first week after launching.

To put that in perspective for non-gamers, that could be as much as double the revenue of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, one of the most popular films of all time. It’s had US$2.5 billion in global ticket sales since July.

So GTA 6 is potentially one of the biggest entertainment launches in history, even with age restrictions limiting who’s meant to buy it. With high impact violence, sex scenes, drug use and more, it’s been rated 17+ in the United States and Canada, or 18+ in other regions including Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

The previous instalment in Rockstar Games’ controversial franchise, Grand Theft Auto 5, was released in 2013. It’s recorded 230 million sales, making it the world’s second most popular game behind Minecraft, which recently hit 425 million sales.

GTA 6 offers a window into what’s now one of the world’s largest entertainment industries.

Globally, video games generated more than US$195 billion in 2025. Revenues spiked during the COVID pandemic and have stayed high since.

Yet popular ideas about who plays video games have been remarkably persistent.

The stereotypical “gamer” is still often imagined as a young man. It’s an image historically cultivated by the industry itself.

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