The release of Grand Theft Auto V may have been overshadowed in the news by the launch of both the Xbox One and PS3, but gamers still showed up, in droves. Take-Two Interactive has reported in a financial statement that they have shipped a massive 32.5 million copies of the game, which greatly helped it become the top publisher of the year, according to the NPD Group.
Moving so many copies means that the publisher's revenue quadrupled from the year before, from an already-impressive $415.8 million to a staggering $1.86 billion.
If there was any more questions about the GTA series' enduring popularity, this should quell them. The site makes sure you note that GTAV wasn't the only successful launch, since it also shipped five million copies of NBA 2K14, released WWE 2K14 after buying the license from bankrupt THQ, and shipped the Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition, which has sold more than 8.5 million units and become the highest-selling title in 2K history. Profits themselves for Take-Two were $578.4 million for the quarter, up from $70.9 million for the same quarter a year ago. Take-Two is sitting on nearly $1 billion in cash and cash equivalents right now.
They're so cocky from this financial windfall that they've raised their revenue and earnings outlook for the fiscal year (ending in March) and Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick is stating that the year is "poised to be a record year for Take-Two." He also told investors that he expects Take-Two to post earnings- forever. "Looking ahead, we firmly expect to deliver Non-GAAP earnings in fiscal 2015 and every year for the foreseeable future." How's that for confidence?
But really, if they want to keep it going all they need to do is to release Grand Theft Auto V on another platform, like the PC, or perhaps those long-rumored PS4 and Xbox One ports. GTA Online will no doubt continue to be a source of profit as people spend money to play online, as well, and they're looking forward to releasing Evolve, the latest game from the developers of Left 4 Dead. The future is bright for Take-Two Interactive, bright from the shiny gold coins they're no doubt swimming in.
