“Grand Theft Auto V,” the fifth installment of the GTA series came out guns blasting with $800 million in global first-day sales.Take-Two has announced that Grand Theft Auto V generated approximately $800 million in sales worldwide during its first 24 hours on sale. According to Take-Two, this marks “the highest first day retail sales of any title in the history of the company and the Grand Theft Auto series.”
Take-Two shares closed up 1.2 percent at $17.20. The stock has climbed 12 percent since July when the company raised its fiscal 2014 forecast and the buzz grew louder around the game’s September release.
Retail revenues of $800 million would translate to sales of about 13 million to 14 million units of the game, analysts estimated.
“The last major Grand Theft Auto title sold just under 13 million in the course of the year. This did that in a day,” said Daniel Ernst, an analyst at Hudson Square Research. The sales beat his expectations.