“Grand Theft Auto V” raked in more than a billion dollars in a record-shattering first three days on the streets for the unabashedly violent videogame, the publisher announced.
“Grand Theft Auto is a cultural phenomenon, and Rockstar Games continues to redefine what can be achieved in interactive entertainment,”
said Take-Two chief executive Strauss Zelnick. Take-Two’s unit Rockstar Games spent five years crafting the title, with a rumored production budget of $270 million, and the time has paid off for gamers, according to a slew of reviews giving it top marks. The fifth installment in the GTA series is set in a fictional city of Los Santos based on real-world Los Angeles and its nearby hills and beaches.
Fans say GTA appeals with captivating story lines and an open-world format that lets players go wherever they wish in game worlds, noting that players can rob banks, take a yoga lesson or fly a plane, as well as play with or against one another online. Rockstar said that GTA V
“focuses on the pursuit of the almighty dollar”
in a re-imagined Southern California. Grand Theft Auto IV blew away videogame and Hollywood records by raking in an unprecedented $500 million in the week after its release in 2008.
