We already know that Rockstar's mega-hit crime-'em-up, Grand Theft Auto V, is the best selling game of all time, but a new report from MarketWatch reveals that it's comfortably the most profitable game ever. In fact, it's made more cash than any film, album, or other entertainment product in history.
Across all platforms, GTA V's 90 million sales has made more than $6 billion for Take-Two, which easily exceeds the best selling movies. The website points towards Star Wars and Gone With the Wind as each making around $4 billion (adjusted for inflation). You'd need to combine the sales of previous entries in the series -- GTA III, Vice Sity, San Andreas, and GTA IV -- to reach the latest game's figures.
As GamesIndustry.biz points out, it's unclear whether the $6 billion is directly from sales or takes into account in-game purchases found in GTA Online. Whichever way you slice it, however, it's clear that GTA V is a gargantuan success. The game is omnipresent in sales charts, and Rockstar's continued support for the title means that there are always fresh reasons for players old and new to jump in.
Are you still enjoying Grand Theft Auto V? Do these new figures surprise you? Don't steal a car in the comments below.
[source gamesindustry.biz, via marketwatch.com]
Comments 57
That is an unbelievable achievement for a game to make!
But seriously,I really don't understand WHY it's done as well as it has.I played it for the xbox360 and enjoyed the single player,played GTA ONLINE for half an hour before getting bored and never went back.
@Wazeddie22 It's a combination of things, I think. The GTA series has always sold very well. It's the type of game that people buy a console for - they want to play the new GTA. It also released across two console generations, both of which are very sizeable in terms of install base, and GTA Online is far bigger and more popular than any online component Rockstar has ever built. They're still adding to it now.
I also don't get it, I liked the game but was kind of happy to put it aside when I completed the story... Played it a couple of times for a few houfs afterward. It's a great game but not amazing if you ask me. Never played online though, does the online make it much better?
I haven't bought or even played this game. If I remember correctly the only GTA game I have is a bizzare top down version on PSP.
It really is an unbelievable achievement for a game though!
Grand Theft Microtransactions
Bu-bu-but why are publishers scared of Red Dead 2? The last one wasn't even that good.
I bought this for the 360 at launch, then bought the enhanced version for the PS4. I still haven't completed the single player story.
GTA V & Online was fun while it lasted. Currently it has nothing for me personally, the majority of the updates are lazy, recycled crap, the only update that looked like any effort actually went in to it was the doomsday update but I sold my copy a few weeks before that released so I cant comment on that too much. Not many people talk about the issues with GTA Online only the fact that it continues to sell and continues to release free updates (even if said updates are crap that rockstar just threw together in the creator/editor) I had enough of doing the pacific standard over and over just for the sake of having money for stuff, just for the sake of having it. Rockstar introduced some really good elements to the game like, Ceo missions ect.. then crapped all over it with backwards restrictions and a forced PVP element.
@Hengist Yeah, pretty much the same. I got to the submarine part and stopped on both PS3 and PS4.
Playing through this game right now and aiming for 100%. I like it, it's better than I expected even but I will probably forget everything about this game as soon as I'l play something else. It's not 6 billion dollar special to me, honestly.
Also, the writing in 5... there's a lot of bad stuff in it.
@LaNooch1978 I think GTA5 online is probably fun playing with friends in co-op, but playing it on my own was not a great experience.
My favorite franchises along with god of war.my favorite ps3 games also.congratulations.word up son
Pretty cool world, annoying switching mechanic made for a weirdly disjointed campaign. I'm really hoping RDR doesn't take a similar approach and that they scrap it for GTA6.
All the more reason why RDR2 will have the same setup!
It's a great achievement and the game was good even if the 3 person mechanic was a gimmick which offered nothing really other than forcing you to play as Franklin, who is one of the dullest video game characters I can remember. It's not my favourite in the franchise and Red Dead was better than all of them so I'm very much looking forward to that. Still I don't understand how it sells so well, I've played many better games but I guess most gamers just want to perpetually and mindlessly shoot each other.
GTA Online — what PlayStation Home was supposed to be.
Of course if you're the type that just takes a car, runs through mission after mission at full speed like any other 6hr campaign game, you're going to find it boring. Perhaps if you took the time to appreciate the beautiful scenery which most 'newer' games are struggling to replicate in terms of graphics, beauty, overall art, you'd realize it's a gem.
Random events, Strangers & Freaks that vary and don't feel like fetch quests, pastimes, property missions, bet you skipped all that. Insane amount of clothing you might not even wear them all when Persona 5 charges for basic clothing.
And then there's Online with a wide range of different modes that feels like you can find a bit of every game in it; Mario Kart, Nascar, COD name it.
At this point to hate on this game is like trying to look cool hating on the cool stuff type of attitude.
Makes sense with how long they've been in sales charts across the years. And of course the MT-focused online mode.
They kept it as an evergreen software title, how you should do it. Congrats on the achievemnt!
@get2sammyb
That's a coincidence, because that's exactly were I stopped, as well.
@Hengist me too
@LaNooch1978 Hello there, nice to meet you! I don’t own and have never owned a copy of GTA5 😊
@get2sammyb Its easy to get giddy for RDR2 selling by the truck load but RDR didnt sell all that spectacularly well looking back (about 10m copies)...and that was with everyone knowing R* very very well and the hype that had. Its gonna be an acquired taste for many.
I think a lot of people are expecting RDR 2 to be a huge massive seller like GTA but I think it'll honestly be very modest compared.
Id take a guess at 10-15m units. Whilst a lot but its not going to stand out any more than the likes of the yearly cod and BF sales figures.
I honestly cant wait for it.. ive pied GTA to death especially with the online mode (just about rank 500 ) Looking forward to starting RDR for the SP content then getting stuck in Online!
Most overrated game ever imo
Having replayed it recently, I think the beauty of GTA V is that while the writing is satirical, Rockstar purposefully keep it subtle enough so that the misogynists/racists don't get the joke and take it at face value, so they too find it funny. There's something for everyone.
@solocapers Red Dead was before GTA5. GTA4 didn't do anywhere near as well as GTA5 either.
It's an incredible game but what really makes it shine are the mods on PC. Playing as a police officer or a firefighter are just the tip of the iceberg. The modding community have found many ways to further expand Los Santos and Blaine County and you can find something new every day. This is only recommended if you don't mind 10 year bans from GTA Online however.
all that money & NOT 1 SP Story DLC?! Rockstar really has dropped the ball doing that! I hate the Online part of the game but love the Single Player part have been a fan from the beginning really disappointed in no SP DLC.
GTA Online is a different beast nowadays. Many and much more things to participate in and very easy to make $, albeit with a little grind, but it's great fun with a couple of mates. It's one of those games you'll often keep dipping into for new content, like games such as Monster Hunter.
@get2sammyb still did amazing sales wise
I'm not a fan of switching between the characters, and Trevor is just... ugh. I sold it. Lots of attention to detail in this game, though, so it's an impressive achievement nonetheless (I loved the fact that there were entire TV shows you could just... watch on a TV in the game).
It doesn't have Vice City's soundtrack though, does it?
I've completed GTA V on 3 different platforms =/ i dunno it's just goodie.
Crazy stuff.
@Ralizah - Trevor was my least favorite out of the three. I just couldn't stand him for some reason.
I love this games single player, between san andreas and this for greatest gta ever. Played a bit of online but only with random's and it's ok but heists with mates/ people not playing crazy loud music over headsets would be great!!!
@get2sammyb doesn't mean much tho.. San Andreas sold by the bucket load. They're two totally different games with different audiences.
I don't see the huge crossover between players.
My point is that GTA4 did well and went on to GTA5's numbers.
Red Dead did well and will go on to... Watch this space
Its the best thing to come out of Scotland since Wet Wet Wet.
Have never played it and probably never will but this is a truly amazing feat!
What do you expect for a game with a character like Trevor. It's a classic
$6 billions??? That's really impressive. GTA is a juggernaut.
@themcnoisy Trainspotting is one of the best movies ever, also from Scotland.
Never played it, never will.
I still need to get round to playing this. I only picked it up in the last winter sales.
This game is in there with other mega-popular games like PUBG and Fortnite where I've given them a solid go (multiple times) and just did not like them, much to my own chagrin.
Personally, I really didn't like GTA 5, mostly because I couldn't just veer off the path missions. Doing a boring mission, and then seeing something interesting off to the side and going to explore it, only to get a "mission failed" screen and getting kicked back across the map is supremely annoying. I miss GTA4 where you could just abandon or fail a mission and keep playing, only to come back to it later. Stuff like getting Roman killed in a horrible accident and then driving away, only to have him hilariously call you up from the hospital later to repeat the mission.
I still have yet to buy it, lol. It's on my list. 😜
Still haven't bought it or played more than 5 or 10 minutes on someone else's system...though I am regularly playing Vice City and San Andreas on my ps2 slim 😊
And that's why from now on all efforts on future games will go to Online only. No more Story DLCs ever.
Still not the best selling game off all time, no matter how much you link it to a flawed Push Square article!
@Daggadat- I 100% agree. I have played 5 since release in 2013 across 2 gens offline and online.
The universal appeal of online across ages, generations, ethnicity, gender, ect is the reason for the historic success of income generated.
I played through the single-player story three times. Although I don't consider it better than GTA IV.
It stopped being a single-player game in 2014/2015, and I have lost all interest in future Rockstar games partly because of it. It's clear their focus now is on making multiplayer games, and I'm not interested in that. Today it is better to compare GTA V against PUBG or Fortnite, and not against Far Cry 5 and Tomb Raider.
The numbers don't surprise me; but that the reporting on this seems fairly dodgy. Their methodology seems to be 90 million x $60 + a random amount to make it around 6 billion. It then goes on to portray this as all profit (?). It has other mistakes too (GTA 3 didn't sell 17.5m on the PS2 alone, for example).
And please stop calling GTA V the best selling game of all time.
Makes complete sense to me. This game doesn't appeal to us regular gamers who play lots and like variety but if you only play occasionally or with mates, you only really need this game. People do buy consoles to play Gta. I know several people who don't consider themselves gamers but will happily spend a free evening online in Gta.
Love it.
Cool... I guess. But also bizarre.
Had it on PS3 and the story bored me, but I pushed on and finished it. Then sold it. I didn't bother re-buying it on PS4.
I know they've added a lot to the online since it launched, but that just doesn't interest me. A friend keeps trying to get me to pick it up again, but I just can't be bothered. I've moved on.
It's the ultimate in casual appealing games (that aren't football), and it has microtransactions so hardly surprising. Personally haven't enjoyed a GTA game since San Andreas. I hope the Vice City sequel rumours are true...
I'm glad it did so well because the attention to details and the amount of work and quality put into this is incredible. It prooves that it pays off to build something with exceptional quality and details even if it means much more investment in terms of time and money, and not rushing a product to the market.
In the ps3/xbox360 the technical achievement was amazing too, no open world game came close to what GTA V did, it really stretched that last gen capabilities
I still haven't gotten around to playing GTA V, despite owning the PS4 version since BF 2017 and the PS3 version since BF 2016.
Maybe one day....
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