GTA V snatches up massive $800-million revenue in first 24 hours

Gangsters be rollin’ as Rockstar Games’ seven year old franchise sets a new world record. Released this Tuesday, Grand Theft Auto 5 managed the highest sales revenue of all video games released within 24 hours of its launch. The third-person crime simulator managed to sell an estimated 13 million copies on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in a single day.

Analysts predicted GTA V to sell about 6.5-million units making US$400-million on day one. Grand Theft Auto 5‘s fans then proved everyone wrong in buying up to US$800-million worth of copies. That’s double the amount of what was expected.

According to publisher Take-Two, this records “the highest first day retail sales of any title in the history of the company and the Grand Theft Auto series.”

The previous world record for most revenue made within 24 hours is held by Call of Duty: Black Ops which almost made US$500-million. Could GTA V break the record in become the best-selling video game? Maybe. Call of Duty: Black Ops managed to scoop up over US$1-billion in just one month.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said that “Once again, the team at Rockstar Games have outdone themselves, setting the entertainment industry’s new standard for creativity, innovation and excellence. We are incredibly proud of Rockstar Games’ creative achievement and could not be more pleased with the success of this launch.”

IGN notes that the figures added up the sales of both PS3 and Xbox 360 in all territories of its release on Tuesday. The title has not yet been released in Japan or Brazil, both of which are expected to be big markets.

Another market that will also help add figures to the cause is that of the PC gamers. GTA V is expected be making it to PCs early next year while GTA Online will be launching 1 October.

Image via Gotta Be Mobile