Grand Theft Auto remains one of the biggest gaming franchises globally. However, its quarterly earnings are back to pre-pandemic levels, although the numbers are still strong due to the success of GTA Online.
- TweakTown’s Derek Strickland shared the graph on Twitter, compiling data from Take-Two’s financial reports between FY 2015 and the first quarter of FY 2023.
- The GTA franchise generated $202 million in the three months ended June 30. It is down 26.2% year-over-year and down 19.5% compared to the previous quarter.
Grand Theft Auto franchise earnings are down to pre-pandemic levels.
GTA made ~$202 million in Q1’23.
This signals a few things:
• Comparatively lower GTA Online revenues
• Copies of GTA V sold at discount
• GTA Trilogy sales have nosedived pic.twitter.com/4v4NlfLseT— Derek Strickland (@DeekeTweak) August 9, 2022
- Strickland cited lower GTA Online revenues, GTA V discounts, and weak GTA Trilogy sales as the main reasons for the decline.
- GTA quarterly earnings of $202 million account for 18.3% of Take-Two’s total revenue of $1.1 billion. It is the lowest point in 10 consecutive quarters.
This is in line with the overall industry slowdown, with a lot of AAA companies seeing their revenues return to pre-pandemic levels due to the end of the COVID-19 boost and current global macroeconomic challenges.
In the latest earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said that the entertainment business is not recession-proof, citing the declined numbers of the company’s competitors. For example, Activision Blizzard saw its revenue fall by almost $700 million in the last quarter, while PlayStation reported a 37% decrease in operating income due to lower game sales and higher development costs.