One of the most disappointing moments of 2020 for fans of Grand Theft Auto was the reveal of Grand Theft Auto 5 and Grand Theft Auto Online on next generation consoles. This in and of itself isn't a bad thing, but fans were really expecting to get word about Grand Theft Auto 6. From a fan perspective, it's understandable that they would be upset by this. Grand Theft Auto 5 released in 2013, meaning it's going on its eighth year. The common sentiment is that it's time for something new in the franchise. Taken from a business perspective though, developer Rockstar Games has no reason to, and a new financial report makes that incredibly clear.
The data comes from ICS-digital and reveals some financial information from the highest earning video games. The absolutely massive amounts of money these games are pulling in on a daily basis is insane, and in some cases it can be used to understand why a developer might make certain decisions. Alongside Grand Theft Auto Online, games like Call of Duty, Animal Crossing, and even Cyberpunk 2077 top the list.
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The report reveals that Grand Theft Auto 5 and GTA Online made a staggering $911 million dollars in the last year in revenue. Broken down further, that means that the game is earning almost $2.5 million dollars every day, or about $1733 each minute. While Grand Theft Auto Online is not the highest earning game on the list, it is definitely the oldest. To put it into perspective, this eight year old game is generating more income than the brand new Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War despite the latter being one of the top selling games of the year.
Once players realize that Rockstar Games is making almost a billion dollars a year to keep the GTA Online servers running and provide occasional updates and events, it becomes clear why Grand Theft Auto 6 isn't even close to the top of the priority list. While a sequel would almost certainly perform well, there are simply no guarantees. What's more, this would likely draw players away from GTA Online, potentially jeopardizing this steady source of income. Even if it did perform as well or better, fans must also take into account the massive cost of making a video game like Grand Theft Auto 6.
To make the prospect of sticking with Grand Theft Auto Online even more compelling, the game made around 50% more this year than it did in the last, and that growth may very well continue. As much as fans (and possibly even the developers themselves) would love to see Grand Theft Auto 6, it doesn't seem likely any time soon with these numbers. Rockstar Games is still using its eight year old money printer, and it isn't likely to fix something that isn't broken.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in development.
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Source: ICS-digital