GTA 6 preloads begin as German fans plan launch-week leave

A German news report finds enormous expectations, talk of "GTA flu" and a friendship that began in GTA Online.

Channel: tagesschau · GermanyStory of November 12, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of tagesschau's most watched videos since yesterday, with 197,354 views.

tagesschau: The main news programme of ARD, Germany's public broadcasters, on air since 1952. 2.3M subscribers and 2.5B views.

GTA 6: Ausnahmezustand zum Start – was Fans erwarten

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Felice Cordes starts the download on his console, but playing will have to wait. GTA 6 is available to preload ahead of next Thursday's launch, Germany's ARD news service tagesschau reports, as fans begin clearing their schedules.

The report, titled "GTA 6: Ausnahmezustand zum Start – was Fans erwarten" ("GTA 6: Launch frenzy, what fans can expect"), opens with footage introducing the game's protagonists and Vice City setting. It then turns to the people preparing to spend considerable time there. One man interviewed on the street says he intends to devote a whole week to playing.

Carlo Siebenhühner of PC Games describes expectations that stretch beyond an ordinary game release. He discusses the phenomenon nicknamed "GTA flu": players taking time off, or potentially calling in sick, to be there at the start. That is an account of launch-day anticipation, not evidence of how many workers will actually be absent.

The report also flags the game's violent content, its adults-only German age rating and high preorder numbers in the PlayStation Store.

For Cordes, the attachment is personal rather than simply a desire to try the next installment. Showing his game collection, he explains that he met his best friend through GTA Online twelve years ago, making the new release something they consider essential to play. He also describes an appeal beyond driving and shooting: sometimes, he just wants to spend time enjoying the world.

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The numbers

The report drew about 197,000 views since yesterday, placing it among Germany's most-watched new news Shorts.

subscribers

2,280,000

▲ 10,000 in the last 7 days

total views

2,483,732,594

views per day

2,911,593

typical day: 2,947,300

the video

views

197,354

likes

2,994

days online

1

As of November 12, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.