Grand Theft Auto Online players are opening their wallets more than ever, even as sales of the base game GTA V show clear signs of slowing down. That's the picture painted by Take-Two Interactive's latest quarterly earnings presentation, delivered to investors on Friday morning.
Shark Cards Keep Selling, Even as GTA V's Growth Stalls
According to Take-Two, recurring spending in GTA Online — the category that covers Shark Card purchases and other in-game transactions — grew by 3% during the quarter. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also confirmed that GTA+, Rockstar's subscription service, is "thriving" in terms of new member sign-ups.
It's a notable contrast to the trajectory of GTA V itself. Take-Two revealed that the game has not yet crossed the 235 million lifetime copies sold mark that had been expected by this point. GTA V hit the 230 million milestone back in May, and had been adding roughly 5 million copies sold every quarter — a pace it maintained in every quarter but this one and a single quarter the year before. Even so, GTA V remains one of the most-downloaded PS5 titles on a monthly basis, more than a decade after its original release.
Rockstar Still Investing Heavily in GTA Online
Asked directly whether Rockstar still needs to pour significant resources into keeping GTA Online running, Zelnick confirmed that it does — and that the studio has no plans to change course. The comments suggest Rockstar intends to keep supporting the live-service title with continued investment even as attention increasingly shifts toward GTA 6.
The earnings call also arrived at a notable moment for Take-Two more broadly: the publisher officially became the world's largest publicly traded video game company this week, following its acquisition of EA.
Why It Matters
The numbers tell a familiar story for GTA Online: even as the base game's raw sales growth naturally decelerates after more than a decade on the market, the online mode's monetization keeps climbing. It's a reminder of just how central Shark Card and GTA+ revenue have become to Take-Two's bottom line — and why Rockstar continues to treat GTA Online as a live product worth ongoing investment, rather than something to be wound down ahead of GTA 6's launch.
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