GTA5 Has Sold Over 180 Million Units; RDR2 Passes 53 Million as Take-Two has 52 Games in Development

Grand Theft Auto V has sold over 180 million units; Red Dead Redemption 2 passed 50 Million as Take-Two has 52 games in development. Yet, some have been internally delayed 👀


Published: May 17, 2023 4:33 PM /

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Take-Two Interactive Software just announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, related to the period between April 2022 and March 2023, on top of an update on sales for Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2.

Net revenue was $1.45 billion, up 56% year-on-year. Recurrent consumer spending (basically microtransactions, season passes, etcetera) increased 94% year-on-year and accounted for 79% of the total revenue.

Despite the increase in revenue, the company recorded a net loss of $610.3 million, which included an impairment charge of $465.3 million for acquisition-related assets and a $54.2 million impairment charge due to software development costs for unreleased and canceled games. The internal cancellation of some of the games was also confirmed by CEO Strauss Zelnick in his prepared remarks.

For the full fiscal year, net revenue increased 53% year-on-year to $5.35 billion. Of that, recurrent consumer spending accounted for 78% of the total and increased 84% year-on-year. The total net loss for the fiscal year was $1.12 billion including impairment charges of $465.3 million for acquisitions and $79.1 million for the development cost of canceled and unreleased games

As is tradition, the official press release included a comment from CEO Strauss Zelnick, who mentioned that the development timeline for "several high-profile, long-awaited titles" has been extended, which means that they have been delayed internally.

We finished fiscal 2023 with momentum. Our fourth quarter Net Bookings were $1.4 billion, above the high end of our guidance range, driven by Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Zynga’s mobile portfolio.

We also issued guidance for Fiscal 2024, which includes Net Bookings in the range of $5.45 to $5.55 billion. Our forecast reflects the challenging consumer backdrop, as well as an extension of the development timelines for several high-profile, long-awaited titles in our pipeline. We believe that we will enter our next phase of growth in Fiscal 2025, as we plan to deliver several groundbreaking titles that we anticipate will set new standards of quality and success and enable us to deliver over $8 billion in Net Bookings and over $1 billion in Adjusted Unrestricted Operating Cash Flow. We expect to sustain this momentum with additional growth in operating performance in Fiscal 2026." 3 "After numerous years of investment and creative development, we are excited about this next chapter for Take-Two. As we execute on our strategy and release what we expect will be an array of hit titles, we believe that we will grow our scale and margins, generating industry-leading returns for our shareholders.

Moving on to specific video game sales, Grand Theft Auto V has shipped over 180 million units (bringing the franchise to over 400 million units cumulatively) and Red Ded Redemption 2 has shipped over 53 million units as of March 2023, with the RDR franchise having shipped over 75 million units cumulatively.

The previous update, provided in February (updated to December 2022) had GTA5 at over 175 million units, while Red Dead Redemption 2 was at over 50 million units. 

We also learn that Borderlands 3 has shipped over 17 million units. NBA2K23 Has shipped over 11 million units.

The documentation also included an update of the games Take-Two has in the pipeline, for a total of 52 games intended for release by the fiscal year 2026 (which ends in March 2026), including a few that we already know about and the recently-teased collaboration between Private Division and Pokemon developer Game Freak.

As usual, this is just a snapshot of the pipeline, and some of the games might be canceled or delayed, while others may be added to the list.

Take-Two games pipeline

The press release also included a list of key metrics about all of Take-Two's brands:

Take-Two:

  • On April 14th, Take-Two announced that it completed an underwritten public offering and sale of $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of its Senior Notes, consisting of $500 million of its 5.000% Senior Notes due 2026 and $500 million of its 4.950% Senior Notes due 2028. Subsequently, the Company used $350.0 million of the proceeds to prepay all of its outstanding term loan. The remainder of the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including the repurchase or retirement of the Company’s other outstanding indebtedness.

Rockstar Games:

  • On January 19th, announced that Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is available to purchase on Steam, and on sale through February 2nd as part of the Rockstar Games Publisher Sale. In addition to modern controls, graphical and environmental upgrades, and other enhancements — these versions of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are Playable on Steam Deck and support additional features including achievements and more.
  • Rockstar Games continued to provide an array of free content for their vast and growing online communities, including:
    • During the period, Rockstar Games continued to support the passionate, global Grand Theft Auto Online community with an array of new content offerings, including The Last Dose – the epic finale of the Los Santos Drug Wars update, as well as the roving Gun Van, Taxi Work missions, a new 50-car garage, new vehicles, clothes, weapons, modes, and much more.
    • Through the GTA+ premium membership program, enrolled members benefit from a rotation of numerous exclusive in-game benefits, including vehicles, business opportunities, special upgrades, and many other perks throughout the game.
    • Drove engagement for Red Dead Online through an array of monthly bonuses and rewards, seasonally-themed gifts, and more.

2K:

  • Continued to drive engagement for NBA 2K23 with the launch of new seasons that feature new music, content, and rewards.
  • On March 17th, 2K and Visual Concepts released WWE 2K23, the newest installment of the flagship WWE 2K video game franchise developed by Visual Concepts for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. In celebration of his 20th anniversary as a WWE Superstar, 16-time World Champion, Hollywood icon, philanthropist, and WWE 2K23 Executive Soundtrack Producer, John Cena, is featured on the cover of each edition of the game. WWE 2K23 features several franchise advancements, including a unique new take on the 2K Showcase, the WWE 2K introduction of the fan-favorite WarGames, and expansions to several marquee game modes.
  • Additionally, there were updates to WWE Supercard, including a New WrestleMania 39 card Tier, Battle Pass, Twitch drops, special themed events and more.
  • PGA TOUR 2K23 continues to impress critics and players alike, laying the claim to the title of "Highest Rated Golf Sim" of the last decade on Xbox and PC.
  • Continued to support PGA TOUR 2K23 with additional features, as well as the introduction of Matthew Fitzpatrick and John Cena as playable golfers.
  • On March 23rd, 2K and the LEGO Group announced LEGO® 2K Drive, the ultimate driving adventure game, available worldwide on May 19th, 2023. Developed by Visual Concepts, LEGO 2K Drive evolves the iconic LEGO play experience with a vast, open world where players can build any vehicle, drive anywhere and become a LEGO racing legend. LEGO 2K Drive will be the first release in a multi-title partnership between 2K and the LEGO Group. LEGO 2K Drive will combine the best elements of open-world driving and fast-paced competitive racing, while introducing a diverse vehicle customization system.
  • On February 17th, 2K announced that industry veteran and Firaxis Games Chief Operating Officer, Heather Hazen, has been promoted to Studio Head, ushering in a new era of development at the legendary interactive entertainment studio behind Sid Meier’s CivilizationXCOM, and the recently-released and critically-acclaimed Marvel's Midnight Suns. As Studio Head, Hazen will manage Firaxis Games' development teams and lead its mission to build the best strategy games on the planet. With 22 years of experience in gaming and entertainment, Hazen joined Firaxis Games in 2020 as the studio's Chief Operating Officer.
  • On March 16th, 2K and Firaxis made Civilization VI available for Xbox Game Pass.
  • During the quarter, 2K and Marvel supported Marvel’s Midnight Suns with three DLC packs, including The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, which launched on January 26thRedemption, which launched on February 23rd, and the Hunger, which launched on March 21st.

Private Division:

  • On February 24th, Private Division and Intercept Games announced that Kerbal Space Program 2 is available in PC Early Access on Steam, Epic Games Store, Private Division Store, and other digital storefronts. Kerbal Space Program 2, the sequel to the original rocket simulation game that sold over 5 million units worldwide, ushers in the next generation of space adventure by allowing players to build their own space program with hundreds of new and improved parts, an upgraded onboarding experience, modernized visuals, vibrant and realistic environments with unprecedented detail, customizable color schemes for spacecraft, and more. Kerbal Space Program 2 has been built from the ground up to be expanded upon for years to come.
  • On March 7th, Private Division, Obsidian Entertainment, and Virtuos announced that The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition is available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition introduces overhauled lighting and environments, dynamic 4K resolution, enhanced details resulting in more realistic characters, an increased level cap up to level 99, and more.
  • On May 9th, announced a partnership to publish a new title from Game Freak. Founded in 1989, the Japanese development company has created dozens of hit games, including more than 30 entries in the Pokémon franchise, which is widely recognized as one of the best-selling game series of all time.

Zynga:

  • On January 19th, Chartboost announced Chartboost Mediation, the largest expansion of the company’s Helium platform to date. Chartboost Mediation provides mobile app developers and publishers with an all-in-one solution for increasing revenue, making Chartboost’s tools and services one of the most advanced in the industry today.
  • On February 14thEmpires & Puzzles released its Season of Love, a new in-game event with Rare, Epic, and Legendary Heroes for players to use in epic battles, giving them better chances of obtaining hard-earned Epic Hero Tokens.
  • On February 23rd, Rollic celebrated the first anniversary of Fill The Fridge!
  • On March 1st, Top Eleven launched the Mastermind campaign which supported a new feature, Season in Review, and new game mode, Proving Grounds, in February and March.
  • On March 13th, CSR Racing 2 launched the European Invitational - a celebration of Europe's love affair with cars, featuring some of the greatest cars from across the continent.
  • On March 20thZynga Poker introduced ‘Cash Clash’, a new tournament-inspired event, giving players even more ways to compete against one another in the classic game of Texas Hold’Em Poker.
  • On March 27th, Zynga Turkey launched a new game, Backgammon Plus, which reimagines the popular board game.
  • On April 27th, announced the promotion of Akshay Bharadwaj as the new head of its Socialpoint studio. In his previous role as Vice President and General Manager of Zynga India, Bharadwaj oversaw the live operations of many titles in the Zynga portfolio, including the FarmVille franchise, while building teams to create new mass market games.

If you'd like to compare today's results with historical data, you can check out the previous financial announcement made by Take-Two in February, via our dedicated article.

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


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More Info About This Game
Learn more about Grand Theft Auto V
Game Page Grand Theft Auto V
Developer
Rockstar North
Publisher
Rockstar Games
Release Date
September 17, 2013 (Calendar)
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