It’s hard to believe that Grand Theft Auto V has been out for five years now. What’s even harder to believe is that it’s become the biggest success story in video gaming to date.

Based on these NPD numbers for June, the game continues to be a top five seller even after all this time; and it’s getting incredibly close to reaching the 100 million copies sold mark -- an unheard of number for such a release.

Business Insider recently had the chance to speak with Rockstar Games in regards to the release, and not only is the company grateful for the game’s success, it noted that it’s still got some great content to come in the months ahead, even with Red Dead Redemption 2 on the horizon for a fall release.

Reflecting on the game’s massive $6 billion success, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said, “What can I say? We’re extraordinarily grateful to our colleagues at Rockstar Games for this incredible creative achievement, and to the entire team responsible for physical/digital distribution, and marketing of course.”

He continued, “We would never have expected to sell something like 100 million units and still be in the market and still be active.”

Thanks to the success of GTA V, the franchise as a whole has shaken up the industry with “something like 285 million units,” including legendary favorites like Grand Theft Auto III and GTA: Vice City, as well as San Andreas.

Ironically enough, there was only one month where the game wasn’t a top seller, according to the NPD’s Mat Piscatella. “The only time it didn’t was October 2014 when it hit at #21,” he said. “No other title comes anywhere near close. Its performance is just other worldly.”

But Zelnick keeps things humble, despite the game’s success. “Our own approach here is -- probably to a fault -- we don’t engage in self-congratulatory behavior,” he said.

But part of that game’s success is with Grand Theft Auto Online, which continues to see new content on a weekly basis. And Zelnick noted that plan won’t stop anytime soon. “There’s plenty more content to come,” he said, though he didn’t go into too much detail about what to expect.

All the same, congrats to Rockstar Games on reaching the monumental feat. We can’t wait to see what happens next with GTA.

Grand Theft Auto V is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Posted: Aug 10, 2018 3:05 pm
Related Forum: Grand Theft Auto Forum

Source: http://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/08/07/rockstar-games-five-years-of-grand-theft-auto-v/