Grand Theft Auto V sales stall after 9 years, may be approaching saturation

After nine years of sales across three console generations, Grand Theft Auto V sales are finally starting to slow down.

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GTA V is a powerhouse sensation that has generated billions of dollars for Rockstar Games. Since its release in 2013, the title has been a tentpole that helped prop up three console generations with megaton sales. From launch to present, GTA V has shipped over 170 million copies, and now the game is starting to get long in the tooth.

Take-Two Interactive's recent Q2 FY23 earnings report confirms GTA V sales are stalling. The company says GTA V has now sold-in "over 170 million copies," as compared to the "nearly 170 million copies" figure from Q1'23. Throughout the last couple of quarters, GTA V shipped 5 million copies per quarter for five quarters in a row (from Q4'21 to Q3'22). That exponential growth is starting to slow down.

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This doesn't seem to be a major anomaly for GTA V, though.

Looking at the game's sales trends, which include estimates based on consumer habits and past numbers, there's been a few points where GTA V has sold 1 million copies or less.

Looking over the data that we have collected directly from Take-Two Interactive, it appears there are multiple points where GTA V has sold 1 million copies on a quarter-over-quarter basis. The last period was in Q1'FY20, which was not that long ago. One quarter later the game sold 5 million copies for 2 quarters in a row, and then hit an astronomical 10 million sales in Q4'20.

Given the game's age and number of releases, it would be easy to say the game is simply reaching saturation points. However as Strauss Zelnick says, you never want to bet against Rockstar Games.