When Grand Theft Auto 5 first burst onto the scene during the twilight of the PS3 and Xbox 360-era, few observers could have predicted the journey it would go on. Even in the face of the franchise’s wider standing within pop culture, it’s almost unheard of for a game to remain at the sharp end of popularity for more than a handful of years. Against all odds, that’s exactly what Rockstar Games’ latest modern-day crime simulator has managed to achieve.
Since debuting towards the end of 2013, it’s estimated that a staggering 160 million copies of Grand Theft Auto 5 have been sold. As it stands right now, that figure places the open-world thriller in second place on the all-time best-selling list of games. Only Minecraft, a family-friendly title that’s evolved into a multimedia empire, has sold more. Make no mistake, that accolade hasn’t been achieved through sheer luck alone though. Rockstar Games has capitalized on multiple developments along the way, that have allowed it to keep selling copies so incredibly well.
Grand Theft Auto: Online
When Grand Theft Auto 5 debuted on the PS3 and Xbox 360, it was arguably ahead of its time in many respects. While the mechanics at the core of its DNA have remained largely unchanged since the PS2-era, the way in which Rockstar Games has packaged the latest incarnation of its franchise is a radical departure from the norm. That’s because unlike previous installments, GTA 5 comes complete with its own bespoke multiplayer spin-off. Creating Grand Theft Auto: Online as a fully fleshed out game-within-a-game, is the biggest reason why GTA 5 has become such a sales juggernaut.
The way in which Rockstar Games has built GTA: Online to be an ever-evolving world is more in line with the live service games of the current generation, rather than the multiplayer experiences of the era it debuted in. Considering the impact that the publisher has had on open-world games and third-person shooters in the past, this isn’t an entirely shocking turn of events. What’s been added to the mix online might not be the single-player DLC that players have been clamoring for, but more often than not it’s still substantial content that demands the attention of fans.
Constantly expanding the list of things players can do online, specifically within a GTA sandbox, has helped to keep the game pinned to sales charts across the globe. With content drops making internet headlines on such a regular basis, it’s become almost impossible to avoid GTA 5 on the internet over the last decade. With so many players continuing to invest money into GTA: Online via microtransactions, the publisher is clearly in no rush to move on from its success. Continually pushing GTA 5 is therefore a more lucrative investment than taking a risk on a brand-new replacement.
GTA 5 Across Generations
From a timing perspective, Rockstar Games struck gold when it initially released Grand Theft Auto 5. Unleashing the open-world crime-thriller onto the PS3 and Xbox 360, just as the PS4 and Xbox One were arriving, allowed the publisher to push its game on multiple fronts. With no free upgrade plan at the time, fans who wanted to continue playing the game on the newer consoles had to double-dip. This goes a decent way to explaining why the game’s sales started high, and have remained so for nearly a decade. In a lot of cases, a single-player can actually account for multiple sales.
Getting in on the action as the generation ticked over ensured that GTA 5 was well-placed to dominate conversations for longer than other releases. Players only have to look at Grand Theft Auto 4, which has ended up in an awkward place thanks to its single mid-generation debut, for how things pan out for most games. Even though the industry has become dominated with similar open-world titles, it’s also worth keeping in mind that no game has really emulated Rockstar’s formula from a critical perspective either. For a decent portion of the last generation, GTA 5 was a unique experience that was simply too engaging for many to ignore.
Thanks to the arrival of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, Rockstar Games has been able to capitalize on the same tactic that it employed a generation ago. GTA 5 is already available on Sony and Microsoft’s latest hardware, which means every new console owner is going to be faced with the option to buy the game again. With an upgrade plan now in place for existing owners, effectively making the game cheaper than ever in the process, it stands to reason that its domination of the charts isn’t over yet.
Rockstar Games’ Schedule
Since the release of Grand Theft Auto 5, Rockstar Games’ approach to content has changed. In the aftermath of the open-world title's debut in 2013, across the entire Rockstar family of studios, only one brand-new game has been put out into the world. That's a dramatic shift considering how between 2005 and 2012, it released 14 games and several DLC expansions. Aside from the wild-west themed Red Dead Redemption 2, every other release since GTA 5 has been a remake or remaster of a beloved classic. With the recent announcement of the Max Payne 1 and 2 remakes, that trend looks set to continue into the foreseeable future.
From a marketing perspective, this has allowed Rockstar Games to keep public attention largely on GTA 5. Having raked in upwards of $6 billion from a game estimated to have cost $250 million to make, it's understandable why the publisher hasn’t created a successor to it yet. While demand for Grand Theft Auto 6 is understandably reaching feverish levels right now, there’s little incentive for the publisher to pull the plug on its guaranteed moneymaker. In many ways the game’s success has become a self repeating cycle. The more content Rockstar creates for the game to meet demand, the more it continues to sell.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is out now on PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.