GTA 5's Online Mode Has 8 Million Players Per Week, as Game Still Seeing "Robust Demand"

Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive on Thursday announced earnings results for the quarter ended September 30. Although a new shipment number for Grand Theft Auto V was not announced, the publisher said the game--which saw its initial release two years ago--continued to enjoy "robust demand," while microtransaction sales from GTA Online showed "strong growth" during the period. The latest GTA V shipment number was 54 million, which counts copies shipped through June 30.

For the quarter ended September 30, Take-Two reported net revenue of $364.9 million, which is up 169 percent compared to the same period last year. Take-Two said revenue was driven primarily by the "blockbuster launch" of NBA 2K16, as well as the aforementioned GTA V game and microtransaction sales. Notably, NBA 2K16 launched on September 29, just one day before Take-Two's reporting period ended.

During an earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said NBA 2K16 shipped 4 million copies and that sales of its microtransactions rose by 120 percent compared to last year's game.

NBA 2K15 and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection were also called out as significant revenue-drivers during the quarter. Revenue from digitally delivered content jumped by 57 percent to $141 million, making up 39 percent of Take-Two's overall revenue during the three-month period.

The largest contributors to Take-Two's digital revenue during the quarter were games in the Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K, Borderlands, and WWE 2K franchises.

Another bright spot for Take-Two in the quarter was revenue from "recurrent consumer spending," which includes sales of virtual currency, DLC, and online subscriptions. Sales in this area grew 39 percent and accounted for 51 percent of net revenue from digitally delivered content. Overall, recurrent consumer spending revenue made up 20 percent of Take-Two's total revenue for the quarter.

GTA Online was the top performer in this category. Zelnick said GTA Online continues to see 8 million players per week. By comparison, EA recently announced that Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Hardline together have 6 million players per month.

Catalog sales were also strong during the quarter, accounting for $165.8 million, which comes out to 45 percent of Take-Two net revenue. Top drivers were GTA, NBA 2K, and Borderlands games.

Profit for the quarter stood at $32.7 million. This is substantially better than the same period last year, when Take-Two posted a loss of $35.4 million. As of September 30, Take-Two had $1.06 billion in cash and investments on hand.

Looking ahead, Take-Two teased that it has a number of unannounced games in the pipeline.

"Our worldwide development teams are working on numerous unannounced projects--including new intellectual properties and offerings from our established franchises," it said. "Our robust development pipeline extends years into the future, and promises to captivate audiences and set new benchmarks for creative excellence."

Take-Two also announced today that Battleborn, the next game from Borderlands studio Gearbox, has been delayed by a few months.