Rockstar Games can take the rest of the year off as reports claim its new Grand Theft Auto V video game has reached $1 billion in sales in a record-breaking three days.
Details of the company’s history-making achievement sprouted online this weekend.
Rockstar Games Grand Theft Auto V has officially hit $1 billion in sales in just three days. Take-Two Interactive has officially announced more than $1 billion in sales of Grand Theft Auto V durings its first three days on sale. The company believe “this marks the fastest than any entertainment property, including video games and feature films, has reached this significant milestone.” According to an LA Times report last year Call of Duty: Black Ops managed to earn $1 billion, but on its 15th day on sale. Chairman and CEO of Take-Two, Strauss Zeinick, states “Grand Theft Auto is a cultural phenomenon and Rockstar Games continues to redefine what can be achieved in interactive entertainment. We are incredibly proud of the extraordinary critical and commercial response to Grand Theft Auto V.” (T3)
According to reports, GTA V secured over $800 million within 24 hours of hitting stores shelves this week.
Grand Theft Auto V was released on Tuesday and it has already managed to generate just over $800 million during its first 24 hours at retail and through digital distribution channels, according to publisher Take-Two Interactive. Take-Two says that these day-one sales are the highest in the company’s history and for the Grand Theft Auto series. By comparison, Grand Theft Auto IV sold 3.6 million copies, generating $310 million during its launch day in April 2008. Take-Two has not disclosed how many GTA V copies have been sold thus far. (Game Politics)
Not just a hit in the United States, the franchise’s latest addition has also made a strong impact overseas.
GTA V also took the top spot over Call of Duty: Black Ops in the United Kingdom as the region’s fastest-selling game of all time, moving 1.57 million copies in 24 hours. The game was released on September 17 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. “All of us at Take-Two are thrilled with the initial response to Grand Theft Auto V. Once again, the team at Rockstar Games have outdone themselves, setting the entertainment industry’s new standard for creativity, innovation, and excellence,” Take-Two CEO and chairman Strauss Zelnick said in a statement. The next big thing for the franchise is GTA V’s online component, Grand Theft Auto Online, which officially launches as a free update on October 1. (Game Politics)
The new GTA title was expected to hit the $1 billion benchmark in its first 30 days.
“Grand Theft Auto V,” the video game featuring gangsters swimming with sharks, is forecast to generate $1 billion in sales in one month, four times the amount Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) spent to make it. The title, five years in the making, cost as much as $250 million to develop and market, according to Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. It hit stores today and may top the $900 million debut of its record-setting predecessor, estimates Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. (Bloomberg)