Pre-loads of eagerly awaited video game Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) have driven a record-breaking day on Virgin Media O2’s broadband network, new data has shown.
The communications giant said it had its highest-ever daily data volume on Tuesday as fans rushed to pre-load the game ahead of its release on November 19.
In the first hour of pre-loading, Virgin Media O2 recorded a 51% increase in broadband traffic between midnight and 1am on Tuesday compared with the previous week, as downloads got under way.
By 9am on Wednesday, the total volume of data downloaded was 73.3% higher than during the equivalent period last Tuesday.
O2 said its research suggested that many fans of the game plan to make changes to their schedules to find time to play, including taking time off work.
Jeanie York, chief technology officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “GTA VI is already proving to be a record-breaking moment for our network, with fans downloading the game in huge numbers before it launches.
“We’ve been preparing our network for the demand that comes with a launch of this scale.”
