Grand Theft Auto V Sold Over 1 Million Copies In 2020 Alone

Despite releasing nearly eight years ago, Grand Theft Auto V managed to sell more than one million copies in 2020.

Similar to Skyrim’s cross-generation legacy, GTA V has endured as one of the most re-playable titles in gaming history, massively indebted to the success of GTA Online. In the second half of 2021, it’ll receive another ‘expanded and enhanced’ release on PlayStation 5.

With regards to 2020’s gaming successes, it’d be remiss not to acknowledge the elephant in the room – with the pandemic seeing record numbers of people staying at home, gaming has increased exponentially in many people’s lives. GTA V is just one of many titles to reap the advantages of our free time.

Digital gaming, ‘driven by increasing numbers of gamers buying direct to console games, digital subscriptions and downloadable content’, was the largest area of growth in the sector, growing by 16.3% to £3.6bn in 2020. Physical purchases also increased by 4.6% to £598.5 million.

GTA V sold a total of 1,127,222 copies, making it the third-highest selling title in 2020. It was topped by Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in the number two spot, with 1,420,353 units sold. The biggest-selling game of the year was FIFA 21, with 2,182,694 copies sold.

Overall, entertainment revenues increased by a whopping 16.8% to £9.05bn – the fastest growth rate since records began, with all digital services growing by £1.4bn to a record £7.8bn.