Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

‘Grand Theft Auto V’ still burning rubber after 4 years, tops sales of 90 million

GTA Online: The Doomsday Heist Official Trailer
Grand Theft Auto V was released more than four years ago, but the game continues to be a massive hit. According to NPD Group, GTA V became the all-time best-selling game in the United States last year in terms of both revenue and total sales, and has now surpassed 90 million copies sold.

In 2017, Grand Theft Auto V was the third-best-selling video game in the United States, publisher Take-Two Interactive revealed during its latest earnings call. This is substantial, particularly when you consider that 2017 also saw the release of huge titles like Star Wars: Battlefront II and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad pointed out on Twitter that Grand Theft Auto V‘s 90 million figure means the game sold 15 million units in 2017 alone. This is a figure most games are not able to achieve in the 12 months after launch, and much of this can be attributed to the continued support the game’s Grand Theft Auto Online component has received. The three-act Doomsday Heist gave players a reason to return to the game — if Rockstar, which is owned by Take-Two, eventually releases a Switch version of the game, we can only expect to see those sales figures climb even higher.

In terms of total sales, Grand Theft Auto V has only been bested globally by two games: Minecraft, which has managed to sell 144 million copies across the many platforms it’s available on, and Tetris, a behemoth that has sold more than 170 million since its launch in the 1980s.

Rockstar has another game planned for 2018 that should help its bottom line: Red Dead Redemption 2. The open-world Western epic was originally planned for a fall 2017 release but has since been delayed multiple times. It’s the sequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, a widely acclaimed game that is considered to be one of the best titles for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 generation. There’s no word yet on when we’ll get the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, but Rockstar’s current project means it’s likely still at least a few years away.

Grand Theft Auto V is available on Xbox One , Xbox One , Xbox One , Xbox One , and Xbox One . And we’re still hoping to steal cars on the go in a Switch port.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Grand Theft Auto V makes its surprise return to Xbox Game Pass today
A man drives away in a boat with stolen money in Grand Theft Auto 5 art.

Xbox Game Pass is kicking off July with a major surprise, as Grand Theft Auto V has returned to the service. Rockstar's sales juggernaut leads an otherwise light month for Game Pass, which brings Capcom's Exoprimal as a day-one launch.

This isn't the first time that Grand Theft Auto V has been on Game Pass. It was previously on the service circa 2021 but removed from it that August. Rockstar has a history of putting its games on Game Pass for a brief window before pulling it, as it also did with Red Dead Redemption 2.

Read more
Rockstar reportedly turned down a Grand Theft Auto movie with Eminem
Grand Theft Auto 3

Rockstar reportedly declined to make a Grand Theft Auto movie that could've starred the world-famous rapper, Eminem. The late Top Gun director Tony Scott was also reportedly considered to direct it.

On the Bugzy Malone podcast, Earthworm Jim director Kirk Ewing said that he spoke with Rockstar's Sam Houser in his hotel room one night about making a GTA film.

Read more
PS Plus is adding Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and more heavy hitters
Tommy from Vice City on bike.

On October 18, Sony will add a hefty list of games to the PS Plus Extra and Premium catalog, including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City -- The Definitive Edition. The company shared the full list of titles being added to the games library, featuring over 20 new games. The lineup is comprised of a wide variety of games from the Dragon Quest and Assassin's Creed series, along with a handful of horror gems, as well.

These are the new games coming to PS Plus Extra and Premium this October.
PS Plus Extra and Premium

Read more