70% of GTA V gamers have played GTA Online

GTA Online was the single largest contributor to Take-Two’s digital revenue over the three months to Christmas, the firm has told MCV.

The company revealed that the free online game – which was bundled with GTA V but released later – has been a huge success, despite a slow start due to tecnical issues. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says that 70% of GTA V players (that have connected online so they can track them) have given the online mode a try.

"It is a free game, but revenue from digitally-delivered content grew to $132.8 million. Nearly half that revenue was derived from recurrent consumer spending, including virtual currency, add-on content and online gaming. Grand Theft Auto Online was the single largest contributor to our digitally-delivered revenue in the third quarter," he told MCV.

"Something like 70 per cent of GTA V gamers – that have connected online – have played GTA Online."

Take-Two has been criticised for its reliance on retail, with the vast majority of its revenue coming from physical console games. This is in contrast to the publisher’s rivals, but Zelnick points out that GTA as a physical product has skewed the figures slightly, and insists the firm is doing the right things in terms of selling its products.

"I am highly confident in our digital offerings," he added. "We want to be where the consumer is. We don’t really distinguish conceptually between something delivered digitally and something delivered physically, after all they are all digital goods.

"Consumers don’t focus on how they get their stuff. They focus on quality, convenience and price. And we want to be where they are."