Grand Theft Auto VI is “now the most pre-ordered game in the history of PlayStation Store”, Sony said in a post on the PlayStation Blog on 10 November, and Microsoft made the same claim for its own storefront that day. Rockstar Games is targeting 30 frames per second on console when the game launches on 19 November.

Microsoft’s post on Xbox Wire, published shortly after Sony’s according to GamesRadar+, called Grand Theft Auto VI “the most pre-ordered title of all time on the Microsoft Store”. Each statement is limited to one company’s own digital store rather than combined sales across platforms and retailers. Sony’s post gave no pre-order count.

The game arrives on 19 November on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Xbox Wire said it will also be playable from launch through Xbox Cloud Gaming on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, starting at 1am ET, using Xbox Series S graphics settings when streamed. In a statement quoted by Digital Foundry, Rockstar said the game “has been fully developed from the ground up to provide the best possible experience for the current generation of consoles, targeting 30 frames per second while pushing both platforms to their absolute limits to bring the vast and rich world of Leonida to life — while maintaining the density and visual fidelity of all its environments and inhabitants”.

Pre-load opened nine days before launch

Sony said it had joined with Rockstar to let players start pre-loading nine days early so they are ready on launch day, and tied the decision to what it described as unprecedented demand. Pre-loading opened at PlayStation Store on 10 November, the same day the two store records were announced.

Sony advised everyone hoping to play on launch day to pre-load as soon as possible. The company said it has adopted a rolling midnight launch by country, beginning at 12:00AM NZDT in New Zealand and running across the globe as each country reaches midnight on 19 November, so the unlock hour differs by territory.

Players who bought the code-in-box version can activate their code as soon as they receive it and begin pre-loading, Sony said. That edition puts a download code in the box rather than a disc, and Sony listed it alongside digital purchases in the pre-load instructions.

A fuller breakdown of the release date, pricing and pre-load process has been published separately. Sony’s post also directed anyone who has not yet ordered to PlayStation Store before 19 November, and carried a PlayStation 5 features video with the announcement.

What “targeting 30 frames per second” covers

Rockstar’s wording sets a target rather than a stated cap. The studio framed the figure around “the current generation of consoles” and said it was pushing “both platforms” to their absolute limits while holding the density and visual fidelity of the game’s environments.

Digital Foundry’s reading of the statement is that the game will run at the same 30 frames per second on PS5 Pro as on the base PS5. That runs against rumours and speculation, the outlet said, that the Pro version could reach 40 or even 60 frames per second because of the machine’s higher-end internals.

On that account, the extra power in the Pro is directed at image quality and additional visual features instead of a higher frame rate. Sony’s post described the Pro enhancements without attaching any frame-rate figure to them.

Digital Foundry said Rockstar’s statement was the first confirmation of what Pro owners can expect compared with the base console, after years of speculation. The statement also listed “improved load times” and “improved spatial audio rendering” on PS5, which Digital Foundry said confirms the PlayStation 5 family as the lead platform for the release.

PSSR and ray-traced shadows on PS5 Pro

Rockstar said the PlayStation 5 Pro “offers breathtaking visuals, with improved clarity through PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) and ray-traced shadows only available on PlayStation 5 Pro”. Sony’s post lists the same two Pro features, improved clarity through PSSR and ray-traced shadows, without the exclusivity clause.

On the base console, Sony said the game uses the DualSense wireless controller’s integrated speakers, haptics and adaptive triggers, that they are fully used across the game, and that they can be adjusted in accessibility settings. Rockstar said the game supports “high-quality haptic feedback” on PS5 through the same controller.

All in-game sounds take full advantage of Tempest 3D Audio for accurate audio positioning, Sony said, and load times are improved by the PS5’s ultra high-speed SSD. Positional audio of that kind depends on the output hardware, and Sony’s own Pulse headset line is built for it on PS5.

Sony said the combination of controller, audio and storage features makes Grand Theft Auto VI “play best on PlayStation 5 consoles”, and that Rockstar built the game from the ground up for the console’s hardware. The two companies have a co-marketing arrangement for the release, GamesRadar+ reported.

Pre-loading is running at PlayStation Store, and Xbox Wire says the game is available to pre-install on Xbox Series X and Series S, ahead of the 19 November release. On PlayStation, the first countries unlock the game at midnight local time.