Grand Theft Auto 6 could make US$3–5 billion in the next week. Here’s how games make so much money

This Thursday’s release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (better known to fans simply as GTA 6) is one of the most hotly anticipated video game releases, with a huge amount of money riding on its launch. Analysts estimate GTA 6 could generate $US3–5 billion in global sales in just its first week after launching. To put that in perspective for non-gamers, that could be as much as double the revenue of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, one of the most popular films of all time. It’s had US$2.5 billion in global ticket sales since July. So GTA 6 is potentially one of the biggest entertainment launches in history, even with age restrictions limiting who’s meant to buy it. With high impact violence, sex scenes, drug use and more, it’s been rated 17+ in the United States and Canada, or 18+ in other regions including Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The previous instalment in Rockstar Games’ controversial franchise, Grand Theft Auto 5, was released in 2013. It’s recorded 230 million sales, making it the world’s second most popular game behind Minecraft, which recently hit 425 million sales. GTA 6 offers a window into what’s now one of the world’s largest entertainment industries. Games are big business Globally, video games generated more than US$195 billion in 2025. Revenues spiked during the COVID pandemic and have stayed high since. Yet popular ideas about who plays video games have been remarkably persistent. The stereotypical “gamer” is still often imagined as a young man. It’s an image historically cultivated by the industry itself. The reality is far more diverse. A recent global survey by market research company Newzoo suggested 76% of women played games of all kinds in the preceding six months: not just mobile games, but also console and PC games in equal measure. Men were only slightly more likely to play, on 83%. Video games have become a genuinely global medium, extending well beyond North America and Europe. Newzoo’s reporting on global revenues identifies Asia Pacific as the largest regional market, while regions such as Latin America, the Middle East and Africa are experiencing rapid revenue growth. Part of the reason is that games themselves have changed. Gaming encompasses everything from Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto to Roblox (overwhelmingly played by children) to puzzle games like Wordle. The latter was so popular that it was acquired by the New York Times, which now has an entire games division. Then there are countless other games such as Candy Crush, which people can spend hours playing on their phones while never considering themselves a “gamer”. Inside the GTA business model So how do some games make billions of dollars? In the past, the business model was simple. A company develops a game. Consumers pay a fixed price for a copy. The goal: to sell as many copies as possible. But buying a game is increasingly just the beginning of a much longer commercial relationship between players and game companies. Let’s take GTA 6 as an example. For a start, there’s not just one version of GTA 6 for sale. There’s a standard base version, starting at US$80, and a US$100 “ultimate edition”. Both are currently single-player versions. Some fans might also buy the US$400 “collector’s box” – full of GTA 6 merchandise, but without the game itself. Its predecessor GTA 5 suggests other ways GTA 6 could make more money in future. After launching the single-player GTA 5 game, Rockstar later introduced GTA Online. It’s a continually updated online service, where players can purchase virtual currency with real money, then spend it on in-game items (such as cars). Rockstar’s parent company, publisher Take-Two Interactive, has described this kind of long-tail activity as “recurrent consumer spending”. It’s become an enormously important part of the company’s business. Like GTA, many other full-priced games now offer additional purchases, including downloadable expansions, cosmetic items, virtual currencies and season passes. How ‘free’ games make so much money Other games, such as Fortnite and Genshin Impact, are free to access. These generate revenue primarily through in-game purchases. Subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass charge for ongoing access to libraries of games. Other games generate revenue through advertising. Perhaps surprisingly, the single largest segment of the global video game business is mobile gaming, forecast to make US$120 billion in 2026 – more than half of global industry revenue. For example, popular mobile games such as Candy Crush Saga and Monopoly Go are free to download. They then generate enormous revenue through combinations of advertising and in-app purchases. Monetising attention for years, not hours These business models don’t just change how much players spend. They also influence game design. When a company can make money each time somebody returns to a game, watches an ad, or purchases an item, keeping players engaged becomes commercially valuable. Games are increasingly designed to encourage this, through daily rewards, limited-time events and constantly updated content. Read more: Sure, video games want to get you hooked on spending. But there’s no evidence they can manipulate you While blockbuster games can generate extraordinary profits, the conditions for those working to make games are increasingly precarious. Widespread layoffs, studio closures, rising development costs and the growing use of generative AI are all contributing to what can be demanding working conditions. The cost of developing and marketing major games can reach hundreds of millions of dollars. So publishers and investors are increasingly reluctant to gamble on unproven creative ideas. Rather than selling a game someone might play for 20 hours, companies are increasingly creating environments like GTA Online, which they hope people will return to for years to come. Read more: Want to take leave or call in sick to play Grand Theft Auto 6? Here’s how not to break the law