Entertainment news and discussion on TalkFuse.
‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ Extended Preview Is Netflix’s Most-Watched Weekly Title
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
An extended 27-minute preview of Grand Theft Auto VI became Netflix's most-watched title globally last week, an unusual feat for a video game trailer rather than a film or TV series. Released on 27 August, the clip drew 31.1 million views over the weekend, topping Netflix's English film chart worldwide and in 87 of the 93 countries it tracks. The result highlights extraordinary anticipation for the game after a 13-year wait, following predecessor Grand Theft Auto V's record as the biggest entertainment launch in history, having earned $1 billion within three days of its 2013 release.
Rockstar Games also posted the same footage, captured entirely from PlayStation 5 in-game play, to YouTube six hours after its Netflix debut, where it has since gathered 17 million views; the two platforms measure viewership differently, with YouTube counting a view once playback starts and Netflix dividing total hours watched by runtime. The preview outperformed other new releases that weekend, with horror film The Whisper Man taking second place on Netflix's English film chart with 23.2 million views, while the series Death of a Pastor's Wife led the English TV list with 19 million views. Reaction to the footage itself was mixed, with some fans praising the improved graphics and online debating its tone and setting compared with earlier instalments in the franchise.
- Sources
- 2
- Outlets
- 2
- Left · Centre · Right
- 0 · 0 · 0
In short
- GTA VI's Netflix preview drew 31.1 million views, its top title
- Clip topped Netflix's film chart in 87 of 93 tracked countries
- Same footage hit 17 million views on YouTube separately
How this story developed
- 2 months ago An extended 27-minute preview of Grand Theft Auto VI became Netflix's most-watched title globally last week, an unusual feat for a video game trailer rather than a film or TV series.
- 2 months ago A 27-minute extended preview of Grand Theft Auto VI became Netflix's most-watched title globally last week, despite being a video game trailer rather than a film or TV series.
- 2 months ago An extended 27-minute preview of Grand Theft Auto VI became Netflix's most-watched title globally last week, an unusual feat for a video game trailer rather than a film or TV series.
Explained simply
Cyberpunk-style crime sagas aside, this story is really about how much people care about a game that hasn't even come out yet. Grand Theft Auto is a long-running series of open-world crime games made by Rockstar Games, known for letting players roam a fictional city getting into trouble. The previous instalment, Grand Theft Auto V, came out in 2013 and became the biggest entertainment launch ever, making $1 billion in just three days.
Grand Theft Auto VI is the eagerly awaited follow-up, arriving after a 13-year gap since the last main game. Rockstar recently released an extended, 27-minute preview showing footage captured from gameplay on the PlayStation 5, giving fans their fullest look yet at what to expect. The clip was shown on both Netflix and YouTube, two very different platforms that are more used to hosting films, series and everyday video content than video game trailers.
The reason this matters is the sheer scale of interest the preview attracted, briefly turning a video game clip into the most-watched item on a streaming service better known for dramas and documentaries. It also highlights how the two platforms count "views" differently, which is worth bearing in mind when comparing the numbers each reported.
Coverage · 2 sources
Entertainment Film Gaming GTA 6 TV