Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
60 Million Copies Of GTA V Shipped, Mafia III Reconfirmed For 2016
Take-Two has reported its earnings for the third quarter if its current fiscal year. The company’s net revenue was down, and the publisher posted a net loss for the quarter, but it exceeded expectations and is ahead of last fiscal year overall for revenue, but has larger losses.
Revenue dropped by 22 percent in the quarter to $414.2 million. Take-Two posted a net loss of 42.4 million, compared to net income of 40.1 million in the previous year.
The company continues to lean on Grand Theft Auto V, of which it has now shipped 60 million copies to retail (up 15 million in the past year), Grand Theft Auto Online in-game transactions, and annual releases (NBA and WWE) to push performance. For the remainder the fiscal year, Take-Two’s offerings only include one WWE 2K16 DLC pack, XCOM 2, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories on Android, and the oft-delayed Civilization Revolution 2 Plus on Vita.
Beyond that, 2K has only announced Battleborn (launching May 3) and Mafia III (re-confirmed for 2016). We have reasonable expectations that an NBA game and another WWE title are coming in calendar 2016. With the exception of DLC and re-releases, Take-Two’s only holiday quarter game launches were NBA 2K16 and WWE 2K16.
Take-Two will share more details on an earnings call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern today.
Our Take
Take-Two’s finances are extremely cyclical, with big gains from Rockstar releases and significant dips in between. The company is leaning more on service-related revenue, including GTA Online, NBA in-game transactions, and mobile titles to bridge the gap.
However, looking at a slate that was mostly re-releases and DLC (Evolve Ultimate Edition, Borderlands Triple Pack, WWE 2K16 DLC, and a Civilization: Beyond Earth expansion) for the holiday quarter is surprising. Take-Two has some muscle, but it doesn’t always seem to use it. A thinner holiday seems like a missed opportunity.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
