Netflix's first video-game showcase leads the week
An approximately 27-minute gameplay preview of Grand Theft Auto VI drew 31.1 million views on Netflix and finished as the most-watched title on the service for the week, ahead of every film and series in the catalog. The result was reported separately by Bloomberg-affiliated coverage and by two other outlets writing on the same day, with each citing Netflix's own viewing data.
A six-hour exclusive window before YouTube release
The preview aired on Netflix first and stayed exclusive for only about six hours before it appeared on YouTube and other platforms, a sequencing that lifted its placement. Netflix and its data arm Tudum confirmed that the title reached No. 1 on the charts in 87 of the 93 countries Netflix tracks. It also marked the first time Netflix featured marketing for an unreleased video game on its platform.
Margin over De Niro and Outer Banks
Robert De Niro's thriller The Whisper Man drew just over 20 million views and finished second on the film side, while the Spanish-language Facing El Chapo placed third. On the series side, Death of the Pastor's Wife led with 19 million views, with the fifth and final season of Outer Banks slipping to third. Both films and series were outpaced by the GTA VI footage across the global tally.
How Netflix counts views
Netflix calculates viewership by dividing total hours viewed by each title's runtime, a methodology different from YouTube's, which tallies users who start a video. The 2023 GTA VI first trailer has previously accumulated 293 million views on YouTube under YouTube's counting method, a separate benchmark from the new Netflix ranking.
Franchise stakes and the November 19 release
GTA VI is developed and published by Rockstar Games and is scheduled for release on November 19 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. Grand Theft Auto V has sold more than 230 million copies since 2013, framing expectations for the upcoming entry. In the days before the Netflix preview, more than a dozen leaked clips circulated, and Take-Two Interactive has issued a subpoena to Discord as it works to identify the source of the leaks.
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