GTA 5 Has Now Sold More Copies Than There Are People in Brazil, and It’s Still Going Strong

GTA 5 has done the impossible: Take-Two’s ageing crime saga has now sold more than 220 million units, a number that dwarfs the entire population of Brazil. For context, Brazil has around 213 million people, making it the 7th largest country in the world. Yet, more copies of GTA 5 exist than there are Brazilians. Let that sink in.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick pulled back the curtain on this runaway success in a conversation with Chris Dring at The Game Business. In the same breath, he addressed the elephant in the room: GTA 6’s anticipated delay is real, now targeted for November 2026.

Delayed Gratification? GTA 5 and GTA Online Are Still Raking It In

Despite GTA 6 slipping further down the calendar, you won’t find Take-Two panicking. Zelnick says, “We continue to supply content to GTA Online, and in fact, we’ve had terrific results there. And GTA+ continues to grow its membership. In fact, it’s had 20 percent growth year-over-year.” Add it all up, and Zelnick says, “GTA 5 has sold in more than 220 million units.”

The message is clear: GTA Online isn’t getting left behind. Take-Two is pushing frequent updates, and the GTA+ membership program is on a roll, posting 20% annual growth. This ongoing support explains how GTA 5 stays relevant, even twelve years after launch. Of course, it helps when you’ve sold more games than the population of entire continents. While industry watchers might obsess over the GTA 6 delay, those numbers show Take-Two is doing just fine.

Shareholders, Protests, and The Cost of Dominance

Not everyone is thrilled with the latest developments. The day Take-Two confirmed GTA 6’s new release window, stock prices took a noticeable dip. Investors, spooked by the sudden wait for Rockstar’s next tentpole, reacted quickly. But even with the market jitters, GTA 5’s continued explosion of sales is a powerful cushion.

Meanwhile, unrest isn’t just happening in the investor world. This stretch also saw protests outside the UK offices of Rockstar Games and Take-Two, following the firing of staff members who had been pushing to unionise. Rockstar claims those employees were let go for sharing confidential information. No matter the spin, the public demonstrations add an extra layer of intrigue (and controversy) to an already headline-grabbing moment for the publisher.

So yes, GTA 6 won’t launch for another year or so, but it’s a mistake to feel sorry for Take-Two’s bottom line. With over 220 million copies of GTA 5 sold and GTA Online’s ecosystem thriving, the company is hardly struggling, no matter how choppy the news cycle gets.