GTA VI preload drives Nova traffic to record high

Pre-downloads of Grand Theft Auto VI pushed traffic through Icelandic internet company Nova’s international gateway to a record high, mbl.is reported.

Pre-loading opened at midnight on November 10 for customers who had pre-ordered the game digitally. The game, which is around 212 GB, is due for release on November 19.

Nova recorded three traffic peaks on November 10. Downloads at midnight were 50% higher than on a typical night, while morning traffic was double the usual level. In the evening, traffic rose 20% above the normal peak, setting a record for Nova’s international gateway.

“It is not every day that one video game shows up so clearly in the traffic figures for an entire nation,” Nova chief technology officer Ólafur Magnússon said in a company statement. He said the network handled the load well and that Nova expects another peak around the release date as updates begin to arrive.