GTA6 Sits at #44 on US Amazon’s Pre-Release Chart, Fueling Doubts It’ll Hit 50 Million Copies on Day One

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The story

GTA6 has carried extraordinary pre-release expectations of 50 million copies sold on day one, but on 5channel, users have been buzzing about the fact that it’s sitting at just #44 on Amazon’s US ranking — the game’s home market, no less. In the thread, alongside skepticism that the target can be hit, posters pointed to the packaged version containing not a disc but a download code that expires 120 days after release, as well as sluggish PS5 sales overall, as possible factors. Meanwhile, opinions split over whether the ranking in question was limited to PS5 or covered the whole site, and the thread never reached a consensus.

What people said

1AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:18
Is this thing actually going to sell 50 million copies?
5AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:19
It's not lifetime sales of 50 million, it's supposed to be DAY-ONE sales of 50 million — so it needs to be flying off shelves right now or there's no way it happens
9AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:20
Re: #5
Well, it's an unrealistic number no matter how you look at it, but even setting that aside, #44 is just brutal
17AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:23
Rough seeing it underperform like this in America of all places
18AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:24
Re: #17
At the end of the day, a huge chunk of GTA's sales come from the US
22AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:26
There's no upside for users in this 'paper ticket' packaging, but there's no upside for the publisher either at this rate
24AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:27
Re: #22
If the code at least didn't expire it'd be one thing, but since it does, it's basically a ticking time bomb
Way too scary to stock if it turns out unpopular and doesn't sell
23AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:26
Which countries do they even think are going to move 50 million units?
26AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:28
Re: #23
Why, 'Rest-of-World-land,' obviously 😤 (mocking how sales outside the big markets get vaguely lumped into 'everywhere else')
28AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:29
They'll just give it away free once online mode drops, so the numbers can be whatever they want by then
33AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:31
Re: #28
GTA5 could get handed out dirt cheap because it already sold at full price and recouped its dev costs first
GTA6 needs to move tens of millions at full price too, or it's in trouble
32AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:30
Wait, isn't this just a hardware debuff…?
34AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:32
Re: #32
Pretty seriously, I think it's getting swept up in the whole PS5-dropping-discs controversy and taking the hit for it
36AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:34
Sorry, what's this 'paper ticket' thing everyone's talking about?
38AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:35
Re: #36
With GTA6, what's inside the box isn't a disc — it's a paper card with a code that expires 120 days after release

Not from purchase, mind you
From release
45AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:38
Re: #38
Ah, I see — anti-scalping measure maybe?
47AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:39
So what was that about it never hitting #1? 🤔
https://imgur.com/kZU7fbJ.jpeg
76AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:54
Re: #47
Why post some European country's #1 ranking in a thread about US Amazon?
59AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:44
It's not just the US — GTA6 is bombing hard in Japan too
Flopping in both Japan and America at once has to sting
60AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:45
Re: #59
Japan is underperforming on a whole different level
It's stuck in double digits on the download charts…
68AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:49
Wasn't the expiring paper ticket a Japan-only thing?
I don't think Xbox was affected, at least
73AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:53
Re: #68
Yeah, that's down to Japan's Payment Services Act
87AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:58
Re: #68
For anyone buying it right now, the expiration date is irrelevant anyway —
it's the paper-ticket format itself that people just don't like
69AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:50
Even FF and Monster Hunter didn't sell on it — is the PS5 debuff really this strong?
They'd better get the PC version out soon
70AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:52
Re: #69
Wasn't there a leak that they scrapped the PC release?
Gives the impression PS5 pre-orders must be really weak
86AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:58
Re: #69
That one [FF] fell flat even after ports to PC and Xbox — still stuck at the same 3 million initial shipment/download figure
Monster Hunter launched day-and-date on PC too, but only had a strong opening with no legs

Isn't this just down to the games themselves not being that good?
71AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:52
Capcom: 'Told you it was a barrier, didn't I?'
74AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:53
Re: #71
Capcom: 'The Switch 2 version of Onimusha isn't selling either…💦'
75AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:53
I— it's still #1 on the PlayStation Store, okay?!
100AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:17
Re: #75
Sorry, it's #7 on the store in North America too…
77AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:54
Combined with Xbox, total pre-orders are like 5 million or so, right?
That's way too weak
82AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:56
Re: #77
Don't call it weak
They spent 8 years on this
88AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:59
Re: #81
Let's play spot-the-difference
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51kKmEy0QSL._SX342_SY445_QL70_FMwebp_.jpg
95AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:11
Re: #88
That's North America
102AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:18
Re: #95
So it's still #1 after all, lol
103AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:19
Re: #102
That's #1 only within the PS5-exclusive category, though
116AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:27
🐷< IT'S NOT NUMBER ONEEEEEE



How long are you gonna keep running from reality?
131AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:32
Re: #116
Even filtered down to just the PS ranking it shows like this, so they're cropping the image so you can't tell only PS-related products are listed below it — making sure nothing but the #1 spot is visible

Background and Key Points of This Topic

The ‘day-one 50 million copies’ figure attached to GTA6 is a fan expectation based on predecessor GTA5’s track record of selling over 190 million copies to date — it is not an officially announced sales target. Likewise, the much-discussed ‘#44’ ranking is just a single snapshot of Amazon’s US pre-order chart before launch, not a reflection of actual post-release sales. The thread’s disagreement stemmed from differing interpretations of whether the ranking referred to the PS5-exclusive category or the site-wide chart — since how a screenshot is cropped can make the game look like either ‘#1’ or ‘#44,’ the confusion is understandable. The packaged version also uses a download code that expires 120 days after release instead of a disc, a feature unique to this title; some see it as an anti-scalping measure, while others worry about its impact on the used-game market and resale value. There were also claims that the PS5 hardware itself is losing momentum, but this remains speculation within the thread and is not backed by any evidence.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “[Bad News] GTA6, Expected to Sell 50 Million Copies, Currently Ranked #44 on the Real Deal US Amazonwww”.

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