GTA VI pre-downloads trigger surge in Swiss network traffic

Sunrise briefly saw download traffic climb to eight times its usual level as players rushed to pre-download Grand Theft Auto VI. The surge began after the game became available for pre-download this week, ahead of its release.

Across an average day, Sunrise’s download data volume was about 30% above normal, the provider told the AWP news agency. The sharpest peaks came in the first few hours after the download opened. That pattern points to a concentrated rush rather than an evenly spread rise through the day.

The numbers put one of the world’s best-known game franchises on Switzerland’s digital infrastructure before players even start playing. Sunrise said its network handled the exceptional load without problems and that it has considerable capacity reserves. For customers, the key outcome was that the burst in demand did not disrupt the provider’s service.

The strongest Sunrise spikes arrived in the opening hours of pre-download access. That short, intense rush lifted traffic to eight times the normal level, while the full-day average settled at roughly 30% above usual. The two figures capture different scales of demand: a brief peak and a broader increase across the day.

Sunrise said the network coped without problems and retained considerable further capacity reserves. The provider’s account suggests the load was absorbable even at its sharpest point. The traffic increase came before the game’s release, when players could prepare their consoles by downloading it in advance.

Pre-downloads can concentrate demand around the moment access opens, as this episode showed. At Sunrise, the highest spikes did not last across the average day, but they were large enough to lift daily download volume noticeably. The provider’s figures show how a single major game launch can register across a national network, even before gameplay begins.

Salt reported sporadic increases in traffic linked to GTA VI, without exceptional strain. The provider said its network remained stable throughout. Its experience differed in scale from Sunrise’s reported peak, where traffic temporarily reached eight times the usual level.

The contrast shows that the pre-download rush did not affect every Swiss provider in the same way. Sunrise recorded a sizeable short-lived spike and a daily volume increase of about 30%. Salt described scattered increases, but no exceptional pressure on its network.

Together, the providers’ accounts indicate that the demand was manageable across the networks they discussed. The immediate pre-download period put capacity to the test at Sunrise, while Salt reported stable operations. The surge was tied to a specific release window, with Sunrise’s biggest peaks coming during the first hours after downloads opened. That timing helps explain why a sharp burst could coexist with a less dramatic pattern over the full day at one provider, while remaining sporadic at another.

GTA VI’s pre-download rush follows a franchise with a long history and enormous reach. The first Grand Theft Auto game appeared in 1997. Its predecessor, GTA 5, launched in 2013 and has since sold more than 200 million copies.

Sony says GTA VI is the most pre-ordered game of all time on the PlayStation Store. Its estimated budget, well over $1 billion, or CHF 830 million, is expected to make it the most expensive entertainment product in history. Those figures underline the scale of anticipation behind the traffic increase Swiss providers saw before launch.

For Switzerland’s networks, the immediate test came during the pre-download window. Sunrise reported a brief peak at eight times normal traffic, while Salt said its network remained stable amid sporadic increases. The reported figures offer a snapshot of how demand for a major game can arrive in a concentrated burst, with the biggest Sunrise spikes occurring soon after downloads became available.