Neues Videospiel: Vorab-Downloads von GTA 6 treiben Datenverkehr in die Höhe

The pre-download phase of the video game "Grand Theft Auto VI" has led to a noticeable surge in data traffic for telecommunications companies Vodafone, 1&1, and Telekom. The sixth installment of the iconic action game series is set to launch on November 19th, but digital downloads have already begun this week. At 1 a.m. on the night of Monday to Tuesday, data traffic on Vodafone's central network spiked.

It returned to normal after a one to two-hour period, a spokesperson stated. On Tuesday morning, the data flow was around 60 percent higher than the day before. 1&1 also observed an "unusual surge" in traffic during the night of November 9th to 10th. User data traffic for online services on PlayStation and Xbox consoles saw significant increases, with some times up to ten times higher than usual, a spokesperson said.

Telekom reported a very high data traffic during the first night of the preloads, several times higher than normal. They had made extensive preparations to handle the expected surge. Grand Theft Auto VI holds the record for the most preordered game ever, according to Sony. In major German cities like Berlin and Munich, large-scale advertisements are promoting the game in recent days.

So far, it appears the predownload has been distributed evenly over several days, reducing large spikes. The baseline load remains higher. Marc Hölzer, director of network development at Vodafone, said "if many people download more than 200 gigabytes at the same time, a lot of data traffic accumulates. Our network is prepared for such peaks."

By the official release date on November 19th, telecommunications providers expect increased data flow. The download is expected to take more than 47 hours at 10 Mbit/s, 9 hours and 25 minutes at 50 Mbit/s, 56 minutes at 500 Mbit/s, and about 28 minutes at 1000 Mbit/s. GTA 6, developed by Rockstar Games, is one of the world's most famous video game series, first released in 1997.

The predecessor sold over 200 million copies since its 2013 release. GTA 6 is projected to be the most expensive entertainment product in history, with an estimated budget of over one billion dollars.