The numbers are in from Netflix’s assumedly pricy deal with Take-Two Interactive to stream Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look last week, and they’re big.
According to Netflix itself, the 27-minute debut gameplay footage of GTA 6 racked up 31.1 million views so far, making it the number one “movie” in 58 countries and a top 10 entry in 87 of 93 tracked countries around the world.
Are those numbers impressive or did they make it “worth it” for Netflix to pay a probably large pricetag for the showcase? That’s on the corporations to decide, but for now, it was enough to beat out new Netflix film The Whisper Man (with Adam Scott and Robert De Niro), and topping the entire streamer feels like a feat in itself.
It’s tough to compare the numbers to anything considering that this event was the first of its kind on Netflix or any other streaming platform. It was so popular in the moments after it became available to stream that the service went down for a short while before viewers were able to see all that it had to offer.
The Extended Look eventually made its way to YouTube later in the day after the Netflix premiere, and it’s racked up over 17 million views in just less than four days since. So, if we’re going strictly by view count, Netflix is holding the cards there, although I’m not sure how or if they directly translate between platforms.
Another comparison to make is last year’s Frankenstein from Guillermo Del Toro, which launched first on Netflix and had 29.1 million views in its first three days. Either way, it drew a lot of eyes, as if that was ever in doubt.
Sales estimates have GTA 6 at about five million pre-orders so far across both PS5 and Xbox combined, so there’s little doubt of the game being a financial success once it launches. Its popularity is also causing a scarcity for PS5 Pro consoles at US retailers, so all that’s left now is waiting for the launch on Nov. 19 to see if the game itself can follow through on all of this excitement.
