Grand Theft Auto V is a gaming phenomenon that simply refuses to quit. Over a decade since its original release on the antiquated PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles way back in 2013, Rockstar Games’ open-world crime epic has repeatedly achieved staggering new sales milestones – the latest being an incredible 200 million copies sold across all platforms.
This news comes from the latest investor report from Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive. To put that astounding number in perspective, GTA 5 is now the second-best-selling game of all time behind only the unstoppable Minecraft juggernaut (which has shifted around 300 million copies across PCs, consoles, mobile devices, and probably some smart refrigerators too).
What’s perhaps even more remarkable is that the 11-year-old game is still selling at a rate of around 5 million copies every quarter! That’s more than many brand new blockbuster releases manage in their entire lifetimes.
GTA 5‘s continued stellar performance makes total GTA franchise sales numbers look almost as criminally insane as the game’s protagonists (sorry, Trevor), with over 425 million copies shipped across the entire catalog – the ratio of that coming from the latest game is also wild.
So, what exactly is the secret behind GTA 5‘s endless money truck heist of success?
A big part of it is undoubtedly the hugely popular GTA Online mode, which has kept millions of players engaged and spending with a constant stream of new content updates over the past decade.
There is an absolutely mindboggling amount of things to do in the game (that are also fun! Quality isn’t quantity and whatnot), but to top that off fans have been adding their own content, too. The game’s thriving role-playing community has proven to be an especially potent driving force, with Twitch viewership numbers that would make most games envious.
Still, even putting GTA Online aside, the core single-player story mode of GTA 5 is widely considered a modern classic and a masterpiece of open-world game design. With its Hollywood-level production values, endlessly replayable gameplay and vintage Rockstar satire, GTA 5‘s immense staying power is a fact no one can deny.
Of course, all good things must eventually come to an end, and the reign of GTA 5 will likely start winding down once its hugely anticipated successor, Grand Theft Auto 6, finally arrives in fall 2025 (though we all know it’ll likely be delayed at least once more).
For now, though, let’s take a moment to tip our hats to the game that simply refused to be canceled – an instant classic that will be studied and admired for decades to come.
