November this year will see the release of Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) – by some accounts one of the most highly anticipated entertainment releases of all time. But the road to release for the latest entry in Rockstar Games’ near thirty-year-old franchise has not been entirely smooth. The title has seen multiple delays, controversy over its all-digital release, and, in the weeks before its 27 August “Extended Look” on Netflix, the company experienced “heartbreaking” leaks of game footage online.
Recent YouGov polling, however, shows that none of this appears to have dampened enthusiasm for GTA VI among gamers. Just 12 % of gamers said they had seen the leaked content, and of this group, 49% said it had made no difference to their excitement and 46% said it had increased their level of anticipation.
Among the UK public, YouGov BrandIndex data shows that Netflix’s Extended Look preview appears to have coincided with an uptick in sentiment among the general public.
Ad Awareness, a measure of whether consumers have seen an advertisement for a brand in the past fortnight, was at 8.9 the day before the premiere of the half-hour Netflix broadcast (26 August); as of 6 September, it had risen to 17.1 (8.2) among the UK public.
The Extended Look had effects beyond raising awareness of the game’s advertising. Impression scores, which measure general positive and negative sentiment, were at 3.9 the day before it was released; by September 6, these scores had more than doubled to 11.4 (+7.5). Consideration, which tracks whether consumers would choose a particular franchise over another when presented with a list, saw a jump from 12.5 to 16.8 (+4.3).
Will GTA VI ultimately satisfy expectations, outperform them – or fall short? It is difficult to say ahead of launch. In fact, as its immediate predecessor has enjoyed a 13-year lifespan and multiple re-releases, it may be hard to come to a definitive verdict on the game until some time after the game releases. For now, sentiment for GTA VI appears to be rising.
Methodology
YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Scores are reported as net scores from –100 to +100 based on daily surveys of UK adults. Data is weighted by age, gender, region, social grade, and ethnicity using a raking methodology.
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