GTA:V is by far the highest-grossing media title ever

Despite being launched back in 2013, sales of Take-Two's GTA: V are still going strong. Over 90 million copies of the game have been sold so far, resulting in $6 billion in revenue for Take-Two Interactive.

This makes the game the highest-grossing media title ever. The competition doesn't even come close, Avatar is the highest-grossing movie with revenue of just $2.8 billion. Four years after its launch, GTA V still came in as the sixth best-selling video game in the US in 2017.

The closest competitor in the video game segment is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. That game was a smashing success, but its sales of 26.5 million copies pale in comparison to what GTA V achieved. Analysts suspect part of what made GTA V such an outlier may be the fortunate release timing. There's been some double dipping, as the publisher released the game to two generations of gaming consoles.

GTA V sales are so impressive over such a long period of time that when asked, Needham & Co. videogame analyst Laura Martin said she literally didn’t believe that a title originally launched in 2013 could sustain that level of success into 2018. Martin does not cover Take-Two, but does cover competitors Activision Blizzard Inc. ATVI, and Electronic Arts Inc. EA, which employ a strategy similar to Nintendo’s with Mario: Crank out new titles based on the property to get more money.

Via: MarketWatch