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.

GTA 6 Screenshots (October 8, 2026)

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.