‘Grand Theft Auto V’ clears $800 million in 24 hours, shatters sales records

By Ryan Fleming September 18, 2013

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Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive’s Grand Theft Auto V earned over $800 million worldwide on its first day of release, making it the best-selling game of all time in a 24-hour period.

“Beginning at midnight on Monday, consumers around the world gathered in anticipation to be among the first to experience the evolution of this remarkable series,” Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two, said in a statement heralding the record-setting sales numbers. “In North America alone, more than 8,300 stores opened their doors at midnight to welcome fans whose loyalty and enthusiasm were rewarded with what The New York Times called ‘the most immersive spectacle in interactive entertainment’. We are incredibly proud of Rockstar Games’ creative achievement and could not be more pleased with the success of this launch.”

Grand Theft Auto V sales also eclipse Black Ops 2’s with the best launch day results of any entertainment property to date, including movies and music. When it launched on November 12, 2012, the most recent Call of Duty earned $500 million in 24 hours, smashing the previous record holder, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which sold $400 million in the same time period. The record before that was held by the original Black Ops, which earned $360 million in one day.

It’s no surprise that Grand Theft Auto V did well – even that it did very well – but trumping the previous record holder by $300 million, and doubling the previous record that was less than two years old, is a staggering feat. With $800 million in sales already, the game will almost certainly set another entertainment record and become the fastest entertainment property to reach $1 billion. It took the current record holder – Black Ops 2 – 15 days to get there. At the rate it’s going right now, Grand Theft Auto V should reach that milestone in less than a week.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

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