GTA 5 sells 17.7 million copies a year — more than many hits manage in a lifetime

Grand Theft Auto 5 keeps breaking sales records more than a decade after its release. According to Take-Two, as revealed during an investor call on August 7, the game's cumulative sales have reached 230 million copies since its 2013 debut.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the Grand Theft Auto series once again exceeded expectations, with GTA 5 surpassing 230 million units sold worldwide. Recurrent consumer spending for the series grew 3%, and GTA Plus continues to perform well. Zelnick also highlighted the addition of the Rockstar Mission Creator — a new suite of tools for building missions — as a key factor sustaining player interest.

For context: 230 million copies is more than ten times the estimated sales of Baldur's Gate 3 (20 million) and five times that of Cyberpunk 2077 (40 million). GTA 5 averages 17.7 million copies per year — a figure close to the total lifetime sales of games at the bottom of Wikipedia's list of the top 50 best-selling games of all time, where GTA 5 ranks third. On a monthly basis, that's about 1.5 million copies — a result that would be a triumph for many indie titles.

The number 230 million is roughly two-thirds of the U.S. population and nearly four times that of the United Kingdom. Still, GTA 5 trails Tetris (estimated 520 million) and Minecraft (around 400 million).

These figures put Take-Two's ambitions for GTA 6 into perspective. Zelnick said pre-orders for the game have gotten off to an exceptional start, and Rockstar's announcement with an extended look, scheduled for August 27, is expected to build further anticipation ahead of the November 19 release.