Grand Theft Auto VI hasn't launched yet, but it's already breaking records. Pre-loading opened on Tuesday, and the rush of fans downloading the game's enormous install pushed British broadband networks to new highs.
Record-breaking first hour
According to Virgin Media O2, pre-load day produced the biggest traffic peak and the highest daily data volume in the network's history. In the first hour pre-loading was available, between 12am and 1am on Tuesday 10th November, broadband traffic was up 51.6% on the same hour the previous week.
The surge continued through the morning. By 9am, the total volume of data downloaded was 73.3% higher than at the same point on Tuesday 3rd November.
Beating football and Fortnite
The numbers also top some major events. The company's previous evening peak-period traffic record was set during Arsenal's Champions League match against Atlético Madrid. GTA VI downloads exceeded it by 3.8%.
Total daily data volume also edged past the previous record, set by the release of Fortnite's Chapter 7 Mini Season on 1st November, by 4%. By 11:05pm, the data downloaded on pre-load day had already passed the record for an entire day, meaning the final tally for the day will be higher still.
YouFibre reports congestion
Not every provider handled the demand smoothly. YouFibre CEO Jeremy Chelot said on X that GTA VI traffic was causing problems with one of the company's broadband network gateways (BNGs). Customers around Yorkshire were hit by congestion while the team worked to rebalance traffic, and Chelot asked users to "bear with us."
What's next
With the game's size and demand, these figures may not be the last records to fall. Virgin Media O2 is also offering a pay-monthly plan for the game at under 5p a day. Grand Theft Auto VI is only days away, and Rockstar has confirmed it will run at 30FPS on all platforms. Xbox has also signed a 10-year agreement with Take-Two for cloud streaming of GTA VI.
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