Take-Two’s financial report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017 reveals that the company saw net revenue grow 26% year-over-year to $1.78 billion, with digital revenue up 32% to $922 million. Grand Theft Auto V, Grand Theft Auto Online, NBA 2K17, NBA 2K16, Mafia III, WWE 2K17, and Civilization VI were highlighted as the largest contributors to net revenue.
Speaking with MCV, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said at least five million copies of Grand Theft Auto V were sold since February 2017, bringing the lifetime total to 80 million. After revealing that 75% of copies have been sold physically, Zelnick added, “What’s driving this is that consumers love this title and want more of it.”
Looking at some of Take-Two’s other titles, WWE 2K17 has shipped roughly three million units, Mafia III has shipped more than five million units, and NBA 2K17 is nearing eight million shipped, putting it on course to become their highest-selling sports title ever.
Take-Two’s upcoming slate of releases includes the Stones Unturned DLC for Mafia III on May 30, the Sign of the Times DLC for Mafia III in summer 2017, NBA 2K18 on September 19, the newly announced WWE 2K18 (platforms TBA) in fall 2017, and the recently delayed Red Dead Redemption 2 in spring 2018.
In his statement, Zelnick revealed that Red Dead Redemption 2 won’t be out until Fiscal Year 2019 (beginning April 1, 2018), and it will be joined by a “highly anticipated new title from one of 2K’s biggest franchises”:
As announced yesterday, Rockstar Games has decided to move the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 to Spring 2018. As Rockstar stated, Red Dead Redemption 2 will be their first game created from the ground up for the latest generation of console hardware, and some extra time is necessary to ensure that they deliver the best experience possible. Such decisions are not made lightly, and are driven by our team’s unwavering commitment to unparalleled quality.
That said, we still expect fiscal 2018 to be a year of strong earnings and cash provided by operating activities for Take-Two, despite an unusually light release slate, driven by new releases of NBA 2K and WWE 2K, our robust catalog led by Grand Theft Auto, and innovative offerings designed to drive engagement and recurrent consumer spending. Looking ahead to fiscal 2019, we expect to deliver both record Net Sales and record net cash provided by operating activities, in excess of $2.5 billion and $700 million, respectively, led by the launches of Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2 and a highly anticipated new title from one of 2K’s biggest franchises.
While Take-Two will be at E3 2017 next month, Zelnick says they won’t really be showing anything:
It will be an interesting year for us. We’re not really showing products. We have a corporate presence at E3, and we’re excited to be there. We’ll be meeting with investors and meeting with the press naturally, and meeting with retail partners. I think it’s an important show and it’s important for the industry, and it’s very important for us as the number three company in the space to be there.
What do you think the “highly anticipated new title from one of 2K’s biggest franchises” will be?
[Source: MCV (1), (2), Games Industry]
