Circana's PlayerPulse tracker, with commentary from analyst Mat Piscatella, reports that 29% of U.S. console and PC players say they plan to buy Grand Theft Auto VI. According to VGTimes, that is the highest purchase-intent reading in the tracker's history, and Circana expects the game to drive fourth-quarter 2026 spending on games, hardware and related gear.
The number reflects what people say they intend to do, not confirmed purchases or a sales forecast, and the coverage does not give fieldwork dates or sample size. Intent surveys tend to run ahead of actual sales, so treat it as a sentiment signal rather than a hard projection ahead of the November 19 launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Why it matters: it adds third-party evidence that demand is still building in the final three weeks, consistent with earlier analyst pre-order estimates. It does not change pricing, editions or bonus deadlines, so the tracker only needs a date refresh.