‘Grand Theft Auto V’ is the most profitable piece of media ever, and oh also a dope game

Jesus Christ! I knew Grand Theft Auto V was a perpetual money machine, raking in tremendous amounts of money. However, I had no idea it was approaching (and has now claimed the title of) being the most profitable piece of media ever.

UPROXX:

Analyst Doug Creutz broke down the numbers, and with over 90 million units sold and years of microtransactions under its belt adding up to over $6 billion in revenue, Grand Theft Auto V is the most profitable piece of media in history. Creutz, who is a managing director and senior research analyst covering media and entertainment Cowen, told Marketwatch that the 2013 open-world game has made more money than Gone with the Wind, Star Wars, and other properties. Even when adjusting for inflation, and taking home-video into account (which adds up to an estimated $3 billion). That’s absolutely incredible.

Marketwatch and Creutz explained that the continued success of GTA V, largely bolstered by GTA: Online and its microtransactions, is an anomaly for the gaming industry. The rightly point out that Nintendo’s Mario series has sold more overall copies over the last three decades, but profitability-wise, nothing comes close to this. GTA V is a single release that’s only grown in popularity as it launched in 2013, then made the jump in generations from the PS3 and XBox 360 to the PS4, XBox One, and PC.

“I think it’s a wild outlier. That’s not to say Rockstar won’t have other big hits—it may—but another GTA 5 isn’t likely. Michael Jackson had a lot of hit albums but he only had one Thriller,” Creutz said.

The non-stop money-making machine that is GTA V has near-weekly updates full of new modes, vehicles, and in-game shopping opportunities to thank for its never-ending flow of cash.