It’s probably not a surprise to anyone, but Rockstar’s new game Red Dead Redemption 2 is gunning down records like a cowboy who’s just realized he’s been losing at poker because his opponents are cheating.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is officially the second-highest selling entertainment product for its first 3 days of release, selling more than $725 million. On top of that, it has sold as many copies in its first eight days of release than the original Red Dead Redemption did in eight years! It is only beaten out by Rockstar’s other mega-hit Grand Theft Auto V, the record of which is set at over $1 billion in the first three days. The numbers are extremely impressive by most modern video game standards, but its hard not to notice that gap between their last two releases. Maybe people just aren’t as interested in Westerns? Or it could have been the outcry surrounding GTA V and its purported influence on the minds of teens and children that helped it shoot to the top of the entertainment industry.
When compared with some of the other highest selling games of the last few years, it becomes very noticeable how big of an impact each Rockstar product has on the marketplace. God of War, a Playstation 4 exclusive that set records earlier this year, sold a mere 3.1 million copies– a great showing, but almost quaint by Rockstar standards. God of War was soon usurped by another Playstation exclusive, Spider-Man, which sold 3.3 million copies in the same amount of time. To help put this in perspective, the titular Mario’s newest adventure on Nintendo Switch has sold a little over 12 million since its release just over a year ago, and the Nintendo Switch itself has sold over22 million.
Rockstar has yet to touch RDR 2’s multiplayer, which should lasso in even more people when it gets rolled out. So, all in all, Rockstar have continued to be on top of their game and it will be interesting to follow how much it sells through its lifespan, and whether it can reach the pinnacle where GTA V is sitting by its lonesome with over 100 million sold.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is out now for Xbox One and Playstation 4.
Source: Fortune.com, Forbes, Variety
