For the months of April and May 2020, every label under publisher Take-Two Interactive donated five percent of certain earnings to COVID-19 relief efforts. After platform fees, this effort resulted in the company donating more than $15 million to over 180 organizations focused on supporting food banks and small businesses, first responders, vaccine research, and more according to the company's 2021 Fiscal First Quarter Report today.
Probably the most high-profile of these donations came from Rockstar Games, which donated five percent of in-game purchase revenue from GTA Online and Red Dead Online. Rockstar put out a list of over 50 charities and organizations it has donated to using that money across nine individual studios. However, it does not specify how much was given to each group.
Studios 2K Games and Social Point also donated based on in-game purchases for NBA 2K20, NBA 2K19, and mobile title Dragon City; while Private Division donated five percent of full digital sales for Obsidian Entertainment's The Outer Worlds. Despite a wonky Switch port, The Outer Worlds has been a successful title for Obsidian, and The Outer Worlds' Peril on Gorgon expansion DLC was announced last month during the Xbox Series X games showcase.
Beyond its charitable efforts, Take-Two Interactive announced a "strong" first quarter, running from April to June 2020, that included $831.3 million in net revenue — a fiscal first quarter record for the company. As a result of this and other positive gains, Take-Two raised its overall fiscal year expectations and believes it will earn between $2.8 and $2.9 billion in net revenue by March 31, 2021. Companies like EA have reported similar record sales gains this fiscal year.
Take-Two reports 12 titles have released during its first quarter, including ports like BioShock: The Collection and The Outer Worlds on Switch, as well as DLC like Red Dead Online's The Naturalist expansion. There are seven titles listed in its future announced releases, ranging from 2K's PGA Tour 2K21 on August 21, 2020, to Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 5 port on PS5 and Xbox Series X coming in fiscal year 2022.
Though the company-wide charity drive for COVID-19 relief is spotlighted in the first-quarter financial report, Take-Two also emphasizes its recent donations related to racial injustice in the 2020 fiscal year report published May 22. It says the company made "significant donations to organizations that are combating these important issues," such as the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, much like Pokemon GO Dev Niantic pledged $10 million to Black Lives Matter and other organizations.
Sources: Take-Two Q1 2021, Take-Two 2020 Report, Rockstar Games, Private Division