The gaming publisher Take-Two had a strong quarter from April to June 2019. However, the successes are more attributed to a resurgence of the old GTA 5 and GTA Online . The newer Red Dead Redemption 2 and the online mode Red Dead Online are having some issues. However, Take-Two believes that Rockstar is on the right track.
What are these numbers? The numbers come from Q1 2020, which runs from April to June 2019.
Take-Two was able to present surprisingly strong numbers for the quarter. Although the stock price fell by 5% during the day on August 5,after US President Trump criticized video games, the stock price later rose by 6.7%.
As reported by Venturebeat:
- analysts had forecast revenues of $356.9 million
- but the actual revenues were $540.5 million – that’s 39% more than last year
These are Take-Two’s strengths: The big winners are:
- GTA 5 – which has now sold a total of 110 million units
- NBA 2k19 – which has sold 12 million units
- also older parts of the Borderlands series, which performed well during the quarter with the release of Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
Microtransactions drive success
This is the decisive factor: What’s going up is the money that Take-Two earns with games that have already been purchased; microtransactions, DLCs, and add-ons. Particularly Grand Theft Auto Online and NBA 2k stand out here.
Revenues from microtransactions, the ongoing spending of players, increased by 31%.
These “ongoing expenses” of players now account for 58% of Take-Two’s revenue.
Red Dead Redemption 2 sells 1 million units in 3 months
What’s the flaw? The sales of Red Dead Redemption 2 are not going as strong when compared to GTA 5.
Take-Two had announced in the Christmas quarter that it had sold 23 million units. Now it’s 25 million. In the last 3 months, about 1 million units were sold.
The online mode, Red Dead Online, has not taken off as much as GTA Online. But Take-Two is optimistic that it will still get there.
It is said that Rockstar has plans to further develop the world of Red Dead Online. Both player counts and player spending have already increased and are expected to continue to develop positively.
Here’s what’s next for Take-Two: For the future, Take-Two is looking forward to the release of Borderlands 3 in September.
Take-Two goes into the financial year and the next 9 months confidently with Borderlands 3, NBA 20k20, WWE 2k20, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, and The Outer Worlds. Take-Two believes it has the strongest development pipeline in the company’s history at the moment.
