Grand Theft Auto 5 was always one of the biggest and the best, but it's now officially made more money than any other movie, book, or video game. Rockstar's open world crime 'em up was released way back in 2013 at the tail end of the last video game generation, and immediately earned its place as the best game in the developer's most well-known franchise. Before too long, the game then moved onto PC and current gen consoles, giving it a further burst of life.
Rather than slowly calm down, however, GTA 5 maintain a seemingly permanent presence in the best seller listings, never straying too far in spite of heavy opposition over the years, and occasionally even reclaiming the top spot in sales charts. Whereas other games died off over time, somehow Rockstar's title kept a finite place as one of the most-wanted games around. Even though some may not consider it the best GTA game of all time, it has a longevity that even its predecessors have been unable to grasp.
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Unsurprisingly, this meant GTA 5 has become something of a behemoth in overall sales, overshadowing both other video games and other kinds of media. Now, it's been revealed that GTA 5 is in fact the most profitable entertainment product of all time, with overall sales that now apparently surpass $6 billion overall. As reported by Market Watch, this based around an incredible 90 million copies of the game being sold.
In terms of nearest competitors, both Star Wars and Gone With The Wind rival Rockstar's controversial title, both standing at approximately $3 billion apiece (adjusted for inflation) with the potential for another $1 billion in DVD and streaming sales. However, that still leaves a major gulf between them, and it gets even more obvious when GTA 5 is compared to other games. The Mario franchise may have sold more copies overall, but no single game comes close to GTA 5, while Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sold 24.2 and 26.5 million copies respectively.
It's obvious why GTA 5 has performed so well, however. The game offers up a fantastic single player open world, but the real allure of the title is its phenomenal online multiplayer, which continues to bring in an impressive number of concurrent users. With Rockstar consistently offering up new multiplayer content, it's easy to see why the company was in no rush to release single player GTA 5 DLC.
However, GTA 5's dominance may come to and end in future, due to a shift in priority from Rockstar itself. The developer is releasing Red Dead Redemption 2 later this year, and should the game prove as popular at launch as the studio's last effort it will no doubt go on to become a major force in the industry. However, Rockstar would be wise to maintain GTA 5 for some time, as there may well be some life in the old dog yet.
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Source: Market Watch