‘GTA 6’ extended look tops Netflix with 31M views in four days

Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto VI Extended Look has become Netflix's ↘ 0.30% most-watched title of the week, drawing 31.1 million views in just four days and claiming the No. 1 spot on the English-language film chart in 87 of 93 countries the streamer tracks globally, according to Netflix's official Top 10 data published on September 1.variety+1

The 27-minute preview, captured entirely from in-game footage on PlayStation 5, debuted exclusively on Netflix on August 27 at 3 p.m. ET before launching on YouTube six hours later. The partnership marks the first time Netflix has hosted promotional material of this kind for an unreleased video game.bloomberg+1

A Streaming First That Outperformed Hollywood

The Extended Look comfortably outpaced its nearest competition on the English-language film chart. The Whisper Man, a crime thriller starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, and Michelle Monaghan that premiered the same weekend, finished second with 23.2 million views. On the TV side, the documentary Death of the Pastor's Wife debuted at No. 1 with 19 million views.deadline+1

On YouTube, the same footage has accumulated roughly 17 million views on Rockstar's official channel. However, the two platforms measure viewership differently. Netflix defines a "view" by dividing total hours watched by a title's runtime, while YouTube counts a view the moment a video begins to play.rockstarintel+2

Brandon Riegg, Netflix's VP of Nonfiction Series, called the event "a reflection of what we hope Netflix is becoming: a place where the most ambitious storytelling, from any medium, can find the biggest possible audience".pcmag

Pre-Order Momentum and Commercial Expectations

The trailer appears to have driven a fresh wave of pre-orders. Market research firm M Science estimated the Extended Look generated "a couple hundred thousand units, globally, in the first few days," on top of an estimated four million units already pre-sold over the preceding nine weeks, according to a research note shared with PCMag.pcmag

Analyst Joost van Dreunen has projected that GTA VI could sell 25 million copies in its first week. For context, the previous installment, Grand Theft Auto V, sold over 11 million copies in 24 hours upon its 2013 launch and has since moved more than 230 million units. Take-Two Interactive ↘ 1.37%, Rockstar's parent company, has also issued subpoenas to Discord after more than a dozen unauthorized clips leaked online ahead of the premiere.tweaktown+3

Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to launch on November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. No PC release date has been announced.pcmag