A Concerning Amount of GTA Fans Would Give Up Their Pets to Play GTA 6 Early

A poll of 1,300 American gamers shows some concerning trends regarding GTA 6 — more specifically, their willingness to abandon their pets for a chance at playing the game ahead of its release.

GTA 6 might be the biggest pop culture phenomenon in human history. It’s certainly one of the most expensive video games ever made with a marketing budget to match, considering that Rockstar has literally taken over Miami with oodles of Vice City branding, alongside a collaboration with the Miami Heat .

Before GTA 6’s big debut on Netflix , fans were literally camping outside of Rockstar’s headquarters, using special equipment to monitor oxygen levels , sound volume, and even count cars going in and out of the building for just a sliver of information about the highly-anticipated title.

With just a few more weeks until launch, fans are more amped than ever to play the game — and some would even give up pretty important things if they had the chance to experience it before everyone else.

A new survey by Unwind Media polled 1,347 American gamers to see how they felt about GTA 6. And while there were more than a few surprising responses, one stood out from the rest; according to the survey, 7% of polled fans said they would literally give up their pet for a month if they got to play the game a week early.

Out of these fans, those who already pre-ordered the game were more likely to give up certain things. The number of deadbeat pet parents doubled within this group, with 13% of players who pre-ordered GTA 6 saying they would be willing to give up their pet to play it early.

Other surprising admissions from the survey found that 21% of all fans polled would willingly give up intimacy to play GTA 6 a week early, meaning that one in five fans would make the trade. Of those fans, 25% were female, as opposed to 19% of male players.

However, more heartwarmingly, over half of all participants said they planned to play the game together with their partner. A whopping 53% of those polled answered that this would be a good activity to play with their partner in crime; and funnily enough, more women than men were keen on doing this. 71% of gals are absolutely down to rob virtual corner stores with their boo, compared to 39% of dudes.

This is good news, especially after a trend swept across social media that saw some concerned partners claiming the game’s relationship mechanic was technically “cheating.” According to the survey, just 8% of those surveyed genuinely felt this way — but we’ll just have to see how things pan out once the game is actually in players’ hands.

GTA 6 releases on November 19, 2026 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, and Xbox X|S.

Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze .