Since launching all the way back in 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 continues to be a sales juggernaut for Rockstar Games and its parent company, Take-Two. The game has quickly become one of the most profitable entertainment product of all time, selling over 90 million units and amassing $6 billion dollars. Granted, it helps that the game was ported from the previous generation to both the PC and current consoles, as well as an online experience that continues to receive consistent updates. As Rockstar begins to look to the future with Red Dead Redemption 2, one analyst thinks it's nearly impossible that the studio ever reaches these heights again.
With Grand Theft Auto 5 being such a massive hit, the pressure is on to recapture that level of success with all of Rockstar's future efforts, something which Cowen analyst Doug Creutz believes will be nearly impossible to replicate. Creutz made sure to say that Red Dead Redemption 2 may be a big hit for the company, but becoming another GTA5 isn't likely. As he put it, "Michael Jackson had a lot of hit albums but he only had one ‘Thriller.’”
Though there's plenty of details that Rockstar hasn't revealed yet about Red Dead Redemption 2, it remains a game that most other companies will try to avoid when it eventually launches later this year. Fan anticipation remains very high for this next instalment and it's likely that Rockstar has an online experience planned that will likely attempt to recapture the magic formula that Grand Theft Auto 5 has enjoyed all these years. For better or for worse, one way Red Dead plans to attempt to recreate the success is to incorporate microtransactions, something that Grand Theft Auto Online has utilized heavily and has no doubt helped out financially.
Another rumor indicated that Red Dead Redemption 2 would attempt to hook players through its own take on Battle Royale, a multiplayer game mode that has grown massively popular thanks in large part to games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. When asked about the rumor, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick indicated that the studios pay attention to industry trends, but his biggest fear is risking it becoming derivative. With more and more games jumping on the Battle Royale bandwagon, it's unclear if Rockstar plans to follow suit, only made more confusing when Zelnick ended his response but further stating that the developers are informed by what’s going and bring consumers what they want.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available now on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Source: MarketWatch