The latest installment of Grand Theft Auto from Rockstar Games and Take-Two is a blockbuster hit, as evidenced by the number of copies sold since May 2024.

Following the second delay of Grand Theft Auto VI, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick explained why shareholders should not be overly concerned. Grand Theft Auto V, which includes the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto Online, has sold over 220 million copies since its 2013 release. Zelnick first reiterated the “it’ll be ready when it’s ready” approach to the release date of Grand Theft Auto VI in an interview with The Game Business. Take-Two can afford to think long term because Grand Theft Auto V simply won’t stop selling, and people won’t stop spending money in Grand Theft Auto Online.

“When we set a date, we really do believe in it. When we set the last date, we said that if a game requires more polish to be the best possible version of itself, we will give it more time. And that’s exactly what happened. We feel really good about this release date. It’s in the same fiscal year, which happens to be a great release window, and of course, we fully support Rockstar’s approach. We continue to supply content to Grand Theft Auto Online and have had terrific results. GTA+ continues to grow its membership; in fact, it’s grown by 20% year-over-year. Grand Theft Auto V has sold more than 220 million units,” said Zelnick.

With this result, Grand Theft Auto V has become one of the top three best-selling games of all time. However, 220 million is still far behind Minecraft’s 300+ million, and Tetris has sold even more, including packed-in versions that shipped with consoles like the Game Boy. This also means Grand Theft Auto V sold approximately 20 million copies over the past year. Take-Two last discussed sales in May 2024, when it said Grand Theft Auto V had sold around 200 million copies.

We’ll have to wait until November 2026 for Grand Theft Auto VI. On PC? Even longer.

Source: PCGamer, The Game Business