Red Dead Redemption 2 Shipped Over 23 Million Units as Take-Two Announces Financial Results

Today Take-Two Interactive Software announced its financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2019.

Net revenue grew to a whopping $1.249  billion compared to  $480.8 million in the same quarter last year. Digital net revenue also grew from  $258.4 million to $594.7 million.

Net income jumped from  $25.1 million to $179.9 million.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick accompanied the press release with a statement:

“Take-Two delivered better-than-expected results in the fiscal third quarter. Our outperformance was driven primarily by the record-breaking launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 along with strong results from NBA 2K19. In addition, consumers engaged significantly with our offerings, and recurrent consumer spending grew 31% to a new record. We generated strong cash flow and ended the period with $1.6 billion in cash and short-term investments, after deploying $109 million to repurchase 1 million shares of our stock.

As a result of our outstanding third quarter performance, we are raising our outlook for fiscal 2019, which is poised to be a record year for Net Bookings and Adjusted Operating Cash Flow. Looking ahead, as our industry continues to embrace new technologies that enhance consumers’ experience with, and access to interactive entertainment, we remain focused on broadening the reach of our content and expanding further globally. Take-Two is exceedingly well-positioned – creatively, strategically and financially – to capitalize on the vast opportunities that will shape the future of our business, and to deliver long-term growth and margin expansion.”

Below we can read a series of bullet points highlighting the performance of the company’s businesses

Especially tasty is the fact that Red Dead Redemption 2 has now shipped over 23 million units worldwide.

Rockstar Games:

• Launched Red Dead Redemption 2 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Told across the deepest and most expansive Rockstar Games’ world to date, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the label’s first game built from the ground up for the current console generation. The title received outstanding reviews, with numerous influential critics awarding Red Dead Redemption 2 a perfect score, and the title also received multiple game of the year awards. Red Dead Redemption 2 has also been a massive commercial success and has set numerous records, including the biggest opening weekend in retail sell-through across all entertainment releases (over $725 million), and the second biggest launch (three days) in retail sell-through across all entertainment releases (next to Grand Theft Auto V). According to The NPD Group, based on combined physical and digital sales in the U.S., Red Dead Redemption 2 was the best-selling video game of 2018. To date, Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold-in more than 23 million units worldwide.
• Launched the public Beta for Red Dead Online. Free with every copy of Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online is an evolution of the classic multiplayer experience in the original Red Dead Redemption, blending narrative with competitive and cooperative gameplay in fun new ways.
• Released new free content updates for Grand Theft Auto Online, including:
  • Festive Surprise 2018, which featured festive decorations adorning Arena Workshops, Nightclubs and other properties across the city, and the rare Southern San Andreas snowfall phenomenon blanketing the streets.
  • Arena War, which includes 7 deadly Arena Events, as well as the opportunity for players to run their own workshop, craft their own juggernauts of destruction and track their own carnage-filled careers.
  • Halloween 2018, featuring new Halloween-themed modes, such as Condemned, and updates to creepy classics like Slashers and more.
  • Numerous new vehicles, weapons, clothing and more.

2K:

• Announced that video game industry veteran Michael Condrey has joined 2K as President of the label’s new game development studio based in Silicon Valley. Condrey is best known for co-founding Sledgehammer Games and leading development for the renowned Call of Duty franchise, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Condrey also served as Chief Operating Officer and Director at Visceral Games in establishing the popular Dead Space franchise. In his new role with 2K, Condrey will build and lead a new development team to work on an unannounced project.
• Announced, together with The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) a significant, multiyear global partnership extension. The agreement expands upon the success of NBA 2K, the top-rated and top-selling NBA video game simulation series for the past 17 years* that has sold-in nearly 90 million units worldwide.
• Launched WWE 2K19, the next release from our flagship WWE video game franchise, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC. For the first time ever, 2K introduced the WWE 2K19 Million Dollar Challenge, where eligible entrants participate in an international contest in which the finalist will compete one-on-one in WWE 2K19 against AJ Styles for the chance to win $1 million. WWE 2K19 is being supported with a series of downloadable content, including a Season Pass.
• Released Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, winner of The Game Awards’ and DICE Awards’ Best Strategy Game 2016, for Nintendo Switch. 2K and Firaxis Games partnered with Aspyr Media to bring Civilization VI to Nintendo Switch and ensure the experience meets the same high standards of the beloved series.
• Launched Saber Interactive’s arcade-action sports game, NBA 2K Playgrounds 2, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC. This over-the-top, two-on-two basketball experience complements 2K’s top-selling NBA 2K series and expands the label’s footprint in the basketball video game space.
• Released Carnival Games, for Nintendo Switch. Built from the ground up for Nintendo Switch, Carnival Games can be played alone or with up to four players simultaneously, leveraging the unique accessibility of the console’s Joy-Con controllers. Carnival Games was also released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
• Published physical versions of The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA TOUR, the latest entry in the award-winning golf simulation series, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Developed by HB Studios, The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA TOUR marks the franchise’s first release featuring the official PGA TOUR license. The game had been released digitally on August 28, 2018.
• Launched NBA 2K Mobile, which enables players to experience console-quality graphics and lifelike NBA 2K action on the go. Collect your favorite NBA players, build your dream team, and step onto the court in lifelike 5v5 match-ups. Use Drills to train up your players, compete in Seasons to earn new rewards, participate in limited time events for exclusive cards, and rise up the leaderboards on their way to becoming legendary. . NBA 2K Mobile is currently available for free download on iOS phones and tablets and is planned to be available on Android devices in Spring 2019.
• Launched Borderlands 2 VR for PlayStation VR. For the first time ever, Borderlands 2 VR enables players to immerse themselves virtually in the mayhem-filled world of Borderlands, the popular shooter-looter developed by Gearbox Software.
• Announced that Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, the largest expansion pack ever created for a Civilization game and the second pack for the critically acclaimed and award-winning Sid Meier’s Civilization VI from Firaxis Games, will be available for Windows PC on February 14, 2019.

Private Division:

• Announced that The Outer Worlds, a new intellectual property created by Obsidian Entertainment, will be available in calendar 2019 (Take-Two’s fiscal year 2020) on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Co-game directors Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, original creators of Fallout, have reunited for this new single-player RPG from the renowned team at Obsidian.
• Announced that Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is planned for launch in calendar 2019 (Take-Two’s fiscal year 2020) digitally on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is the debut title from Panache Digital Games, the independent development studio co-founded in 2014 by Patrice Désilets, original creative director of Assassin’s Creed.

Social Point:

• Launched Tasty Town, our latest free-to-play mobile offering, for iOS and Android devices. This all-new game enables players to fulfill their culinary dreams of designing and managing their own restaurant. In Tasty Town, players embark on an incredible journey – from farm to table – to build their gastronomic empire, including experiencing the joy of growing their own ingredients, hiring the best chefs, creating delectable dishes, creating and managing their own restaurant, and racing against the clock to serve meals with their food truck.

Take-Two has also updated its forecasts for the next quarter (which ends on March 31). Net revenue is expected to range from $530 to $580 million, and net income should be between $76 to $89 million.

As a result, the outlook for the full fiscal year is as follows: net revenue between $2.66 to $2.71 billion and net income between $354 and $367 million.