The juggernaut Rockstar Games confirms its status as a real cash machine and is preparing to mark the video game landscape with its future baby, Grand Theft Auto 6 (release scheduled for fall 2025). DFC Intelligence forecasts; a market research company specializing in the video game and digital media industry; announce extraordinary financial performances for this new iteration of the studio’s flagship franchise. Projected revenues promise to eclipse all previous records.
GTA 6: a future commercial tsunami
Grand Theft Auto 5 had already redefined the standards of the video game industry since its launch in 2013. With more than 185 million copies sold and revenues exceeding 8 billion dollars, this fifth version has established itself as the most profitable title in video game history on consoles and PC.
Its successor should be even more explosive since DFC Intelligence projects revenues of 3.2 billion dollars for its first year of operationwhich is double the initial performance of Grand Theft Auto 5. Yoshio Osaki of IDG Consulting, indicated to the Financial Times : “ It will undoubtedly be one of the biggest events in the history of entertainment, all media combined, not just in video games. The craze is simply unprecedented and exceeds anything we have seen so far “.
2025: the year of the big video game bang
This year will be a pivotal period for the video game sectoras Mat Piscatella, analyst at Circana, explains: “ I don’t remember a year where everything depended so much on the arrival of only two products on the market. (Editor’s note : here he refers to the Nintendo Switch 2) It’s a risky bet, so to speak. We will have to wait to know their release dates and the first feedback to know if 2025 will be an exceptional or disappointing year for the video game industry. “.
Indeed, when the expectations of an entire market are concentrated on a small number of products, this creates considerable pressure on them. If the products in question fail to meet expectations, it could lead to widespread disappointment and severely impact consumer confidence.
Concerning Rockstar Games, the studio has never really disappointed with its big franchises, the risk of disappointing with Grand Theft Auto 6 is therefore relatively low, even if it is not absolutely zero.
Analysts are already anticipating a billion dollars in pre-orders (despite a potentially very high price): the aura of the franchise has never shone so brightly since its arrival on the market in 1997.
Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar, maintains a confident posturepromising that Grand Theft Auto 6 “ will be worth the wait » and will offer players “ something they’ve simply never seen before “. Only about ten months left to wait; if there is no delay in development; and we will know if Zelnick’s statements hold true. The GTA series has always been at the forefront when it comes to gameplay, and fan expectations have never been higher than for this installment; Rockstar therefore has the heavy responsibility of making this one a new cultural phenomenon, as powerful as the previous one.
- GTA 6 could generate more than $3 billion in a year, doubling GTA 5’s initial performance.
- In 2025, the video game industry relies on two major launches: GTA 6 and the next Nintendo console.
- Rockstar promises a new experience with GTA 6, already expected to be a global phenomenon.
