Grand Theft Auto V is still Take-Two’s biggest hit with 90 million copies sold

One of the biggest games of the decade has hit another milestone. Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V has sped past 90 million copies sold-in to retailers and sold-through digitally worldwide. The 2013 open-world crime game has had “unparalleled longevity,” according to publisher Take-Two Interactive, due to the appeal of GTA: Online.

Take-Two confirmed in a press release that GTA V was the No. 3 best-selling game in the United States in 2017 in terms of copies, and it was No. 6 in terms of revenues, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. And while Take-Two had other, newer games, like NBA 2K18 and WWE 2K18, Grand Theft Auto and its in-game digital purchases were the biggest contributors to its total revenues.

“Our stellar results were highlighted by record recurrent consumer spending on both Grand Theft Auto Online and NBA 2K18, robust ongoing sales of Grand Theft Auto V, and the successful launch of WWE 2K18,” Take-Two chief executive Strauss Zelnick said.

When Zelnick talks about “recurrent” spending, he means digital purchases from people who have already bought a game. This is key to Take-Two’s (and other publishers’) strategy going forward, and it is paying off at the moment. That recurrent consumer spending grew 44 percent year-over-year for Take-Two.

Take-Two also note that the growing consumer base of hardcore gamers has benefited GTA V as it has maintained its “must have” status.

With Red Dead Redemption 2 launching October 2, Take-Two is promising record revenues to its investors. Gamers are wild with anticipation for that open-world western, and the publisher expects that it will have generate $2.5 billion in revenues and $700 million in net cash. That’s a lot of loot.