Take-Two recently had an Earnings Call on May 16, 2022, which featured various information on the beloved GTA series. They also posted an Earnings Release, which added additional information for gamers to enjoy.
Predictably, this Earnings Call shined positively on this beloved video game series, touting its financial success several times.
For example, Grand Theft Auto V has now sold 165 million units, while Grand Theft Auto Online kept its impressive audience size and grew compared to past fiscal years. This article will summarize some important parts related to this franchise into the following categories:
- Grand Theft Auto 5
- Grand Theft Auto Online
- Grand Theft Auto Trilogy
- Grand Theft Auto 6
Take-Two's recent Earnings Call showcases GTA's success
Grand Theft Auto 5
Take-Two's recent Earnings Call explains how GTA 5 had a new port on the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S and how the game has sold over 165 million units.
Most gamers should already know what the new port is like, but most of this Earnings Call is about GTA Online (as far as the Grand Theft Auto series is concerned).
It is one of the games expected to be a huge contributor to Take-Two's net bookings:
"The largest contributor to net bookings are expected to be NBA 2K, Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Marvel's Midnight Sun, and PGA TOUR 2K23. We expect the net bookings breakdown from our labels to be roughly 60% 2K, 30% Rockstar Games, and 10% Private Division and T2 mobile games."
It's near the top, indicating that it's still important to their business model.
Grand Theft Auto Online
The previous net bookings statement also applies to GTA Online. As far as individual GTA Online news goes, there are some statistics and information worth sharing:
"In the period, Grand Theft Auto Online maintained its massive audience size from the prior year, while growing 8% and 74% as compared to the fourth quarters of fiscal 2020 and 2019, respectively."
Although it's a 2013 game, it's still growing at an impressive rate. Rockstar Games also recently introduced GTA+, which was successful based on this statement:
"Initial conversion has been above our expectations, which we believe bodes well for this to be an ongoing engagement driver over time."
Despite many gamers protesting about it, this subscription service is here to stay and do well (despite many gamers protesting about it). GTA Online and NBA 2K were also Take-Two's largest contributors regarding current consumer spending in the fourth quarter.
Take-Two also assures that Rockstar Games will continue to update this game.
Grand Theft Auto Trilogy
This game wasn't referenced in the recent Earnings Call, but it was referenced a few times in the Earnings Release. One stated that the game's mobile ports had a "Fiscal 2023" release date.
According to Take-Two, their fiscal year ends on March 31, meaning that the mobile ports could come out between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.
That's a stark difference from the initial release date, which was "the first half of 2022." Other games have specified release dates in the upcoming month, so it's unlikely that the GTA Trilogy will come out next month.
Grand Theft Auto 6
GTA 6 was referenced a few times in this Earnings Call, although it wasn't too revealing. The following quote by Strauss Zelnick summarizes it:
"So, Rockstar hasn't talked about any details at all about the next generation of Grand Theft Auto. So, there'll be more information to come. But I have no doubt that when that moment comes, and there is another iteration that we'll be releasing to a very robust market."
It's arguably the most anticipated game today, so it's no surprise that there was a question about it (although it was strictly about its market).