HOW MONEY IS MADE WITHIN GTA 5
Is the Future of Console and Computer Gaming Changing?
As you might know, games on Facebook and mobile games have been making money by giving away the game for free and then charging for purchases to help you out in the game like virtual items or even more lives. The latest Grand Theft Auto computer game is charging for the game, but they’re also offering in-app purchases, something that’s relatively new for such a big and well known brand.
GTA 5 Makes Billions
How big was the launch of Grand Theft Auto 5? Well, they had more than enough money to pay for a lot of advertising before the actual launch. As to whether or not all that effort paid off, let’s take a look at the numbers. In the first three days after it was released, GTA 5 brought in $1 billion in revenue. That’s a lot of money for a single game, even by modern standards.
The fact that the GTA series of games have been so controversial since the very first one many years ago only serves to help the game sell more titles with each new version released. This is part of the reason they were able to sell a billion dollars worth of product in a very short amount of time. For most games in the past this initial burst would trail off to more modest sales numbers, but the developers of this game are trying to make sure the revenue keeps rolling in.
Continuing the Revenue Stream
What do gamers think? If early reports are any indication, they’re digging being able to purchase in game money or items for actual cash. An additional $200+ million is expected to be made from such transactions in the coming months and years during the life cycle of the game. This isn’t as much as a billion, but it does mean more profit for the game producers.
While not 100% freemium, this new model may spread to other popular computer games in the future. Whether or not this is good or bad remains to be seen, but for now games like GTA 5 are paving the way for others. By blazing trails when it comes to in-game purchases with real money and finances, they’re helping spread the popularity of this feature. And this could lead to more money and even better games in the future.
If you have any thoughts about having to spend real money to buy extras after you’ve paid for the game initially, leave a comment below and share your opinion.
