'Red Dead Redemption 2' Hits Huge Sales Milestone As Take-Two Stock Falls

, delivering in $1.57 billion in net bookings, revenue of $1.248 billion, and gross profit of $350 [...]

red dead redemption 2
(Photo: Rockstar Games)

Red Dead Redemption 2 had the biggest opening weekend in entertainment ever. Within two weeks, it shipped 17 million units worldwide, a number the original (which sold about 15 million) couldn't manage to hit in all eights years it had on the market. And come the end of 2018, it was the highest-selling premium game of 2018 in the United States.

Fast-forward to this week, and Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive has revealed the game has already shipped an extremely healthy 23 million units. Now, this doesn't mean it's sold 23 million units, just shipped. The actual sales numbers are thus a little bit less than this.

According to Take-Two Interactive's latest financial report, the company had a great Q3 (October to December), delivering in $1.57 billion in net bookings, revenue of $1.248 billion, and gross profit of $350 million. All of this was above the company's internal projections.

Yet, the company's shares have fallen 14 percent because the quarterly projections some analysts were hyping up Take-Two to have, the company came just short of. And thus the stock market reacted accordingly.

In other words, Take-Two had an absolutely massive quarter, but not as massive as some thought it would. That said, all of Take-Two's projections were exceeded, including what it was expecting from Red Dead Redemption 2, which is a good indicator that we will see more of the western IP down the road.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is available for PS4 and Xbox One. For more coverage on the game, click here. For more on why it's been so successful, check out our review, which breaks down why the game is so good. Here's a snippet from it:

"There is just something here that digs in and grips you, and refuses to let go. Even when everything is looking its bleakest and you wonder if you'll survive, there's a genuine satisfaction from a job well done. From getting away with a stolen oil carriage from a well-guarded refinery to surviving a simple ambush where thugs make the mistake of trying to rob you for your horse. I played for hours on end plowing through the main story and still found myself in wonder just from riding across the countryside and discovering something new -- even fishing feels like it's a devoted part of the game. Fishing."

Thanks, Bloomberg.

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