A 27-minute look at “Grand Theft Auto VI” topped Netflix’s global charts last week, pulling in 31.1 million views and marking the first time gaming content has claimed the streamer’s top spot.
Rockstar Games released “Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look” on Netflix on August 27 at 3 p.m. ET, giving subscribers a six-hour exclusive window before the same footage went up on Rockstar’s YouTube channel that evening. By the close of Netflix’s weekly tracking period on August 30, the special had landed at No. 1 on the platform’s English-language film chart in 87 of the 93 countries Netflix monitors. Its YouTube upload has since crossed 17 million views, though Netflix and YouTube calculate viewership using different methods, making direct comparisons imprecise.
The preview beat out every other title on Netflix that week despite running less than half an hour, a runtime that put it at a disadvantage against feature-length competitors when measured by total hours watched. “The Whisper Man,” starring Robert De Niro and Adam Scott, took second place on the film chart with 23.2 million views. Built from in-game PlayStation 5 footage, the “GTA VI” special showed off Vice City’s new iteration alongside protagonists Jason and Lucia in a mix of cinematic and gameplay sequences, the deepest look at the game Rockstar has offered since its first two trailers.
Analytics firm Sensor Tower found the premiere drove a 50% jump in Netflix’s mobile usage and a 125% surge in web traffic compared with a typical Thursday, with demand briefly straining the platform’s systems during the launch window. The showcase arrives as Netflix continues courting gamers, following moves into mobile titles and cloud gaming, though the partnership’s success may prove difficult to replicate given how few franchises carry “Grand Theft Auto’s” pull.
“Grand Theft Auto VI” is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19, following a decade-plus wait since 2013’s “Grand Theft Auto V,” which still holds the record for the biggest entertainment launch in history after generating $1 billion in sales within three days of release.
