5 incredible milestones GTA 5 has achieved so far

GTA 5 has been a massive success for its developer, Rockstar Games. Although the Grand Theft Auto series was already super popular before its release, the title shattered countless records after its launch and continues to do so even a decade later. In fact, it was among the most played video games on the Xbox Series X/S as well as PlayStation in 2023.

However, it will soon be time for Rockstar's 2013 release to step out of the spotlight and make way for its highly anticipated sequel, Grand Theft Auto 6. The upcoming title is expected to come out in 2025. While you wait for that release, it's worth taking a look at some incredible things that GTA 5 has achieved so far.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.

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Best-selling Grand Theft Auto game and 4 other incredible milestones that GTA 5 has achieved so far

1) Best-selling video game in 24 hours

Grand Theft Auto 5 was released on September 17, 2013, and it made approximately $800 million within 24 hours of this game's launch. Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company, regarded it as the highest first-day retail sales of any title in the company's history.

In fact, Grand Theft Auto 5 was the best-selling video game in 24 hours post-launch, and the record stands to this day. While many believe that GTA 6's release could surpass its success, that remains to be seen.

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2) Fastest entertainment product to make one billion in sales

Grand Theft Auto 5 becoming the best-selling video game in 24 hours was just the beginning of its achievements, as the title marked one billion in sales just three days after its launch. This made it the fastest entertainment product to reach that figure in history. For context, this not only includes video games, but also movies and music.

That record is yet to be beaten by any other entertainment release. Needless to say, this is another record that many believe the series' next entry could break. Fans expected details about its exact release date from Take-Two's Q3 2024 earnings call, but no such announcements were made in it.

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3) Best-selling Grand Theft Auto game of all time

The GTA series has sold over 420 million copies collectively as of February 2024, and its 2013 entry has contributed the most in reaching this milestone. Because of this, it's safe to say Grand Theft Auto 5 is the best-selling game in the series.

This is quite the achievement given the presence of high-quality fan-favorite titles like Grand Theft Auto 4 and San Andreas in it. However, GTA 5 is the best-selling Grand Theft Auto game by a staggering margin.

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4) Over 195 million copies sold to date

Take-Two Interactive held its latest earnings call on February 9, 2024, when it was revealed that GTA 5 had sold over 195 million copies in its lifetime. Notably, the company's November 2023 earnings call showed that approximately 190 million copies of this title had been bought by then.

The significant increase of million sales within just a few months is nothing but a testament to the game's immense popularity, even after so many years since its release. And as there is still time before its sequel comes out, one can expect it to sell more copies.

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5) Tenth anniversary

Grand Theft Auto 5 celebrated its 10th anniversary, an incredible milestone, on September 17, 2023. While every game does eventually reach it, the difference is that GTA 5 is very popular in the gaming community even a decade after its release, which isn't very common.

Many expected Grand Theft Auto 6's first trailer to be released on the occasion, as it would have been the perfect stage, but that didn't happen. In fact, the trailer debuted a few months later and, among all the fanfare, gave rise to the infamous Florida Joker GTA 6 controversy.