December 5th, 2023, Christien Pheby
Rockstar Games has debuted its first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI. The new game is set to take place in Vice City (the series’ approximation of Miami, Florida) and is expected to release in 2025. It will feature both a male and – for the first time in the 3D era of the franchise’s history – a female protagonist.
The previous GTA was a critical and commercial darling: one that broke sales records and, by some estimates, generated around $8bn in worldwide revenue. A decade later, can the series create the same kind of excitement?
New YouGov data can reveal that two in five (41%) gamers – which we have defined as those who play for more than an hour a week – intend to buy the new Grand Theft Auto (GTA) when it eventually releases. What’s more, there’s evidence that the new game might be a system-seller for Xbox and PlayStation alike.
Among gamers who do not currently have a system that they believe to be capable of playing GTA VI, 27% say a new entry in the long-running crime saga would make them more likely to purchase one.
The GTA gender gap – could a female protagonist expand the series’ audience even further?
The decision to include a female protagonist received praise from some quarters when details from the game leaked earlier in 2023 – and our data suggests it might be a savvy commercial move. The series is popular enough that six in ten gamers have played it (62%), but there’s a wide gulf between male and female gamers when it comes to the franchise: while 72% of men say they have played it at some point, this falls to just 44% of women.
So if there is a perception that GTA is a male-focused franchise, a female protagonist may address this and provide an opportunity to expand a large audience even further. Our polling suggests that, while 51% of male gamers say they are likely to buy the new game, this falls to just 23% of female gamers.
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Methodology
YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on 28-29 November 2023, with a nationally representative sample of 2,006 adults in Great Britain using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.