Every video game developer wants to have a game like Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V. It’s considered a billion-dollar cash cow, and it’s a game that keeps on giving and keeps on earning. However, no other video game has come close to a live service than GTA V, and many more struggles to understand its formula.
GTA V is a video game staple with its own culture and identity. So if you want to know more about the success of this billion-dollar game, then you’ve come to the right place. We will be discussing its milestones, what makes it so good, and why people continue to spend on this nine-year-old game.
Milestones
Second Best Selling Game of All Time
One of the main reasons GTA V is such a recognizable game is that it’s the second best-selling game of all time. It sold over 150 million copies on various platforms. About 20 million of this came from its debut week, making it one of the fastest-selling video games. It also shows no sign of stopping because quite recently, in 2020, the game sold the same amount of copies as its debut week.
Billion-dollar Success
GTA V earned over a billion dollars nearly nine years ago. Now, GTA V is making about $2.5 million every day. That’s near to a billion dollars in one year. So earnings-wise, not much has changed, and its developer is proud of it. It’s estimated that GTA V has given Rockstar more than $6 billion in earnings. This dwarfs the earnings of many huge conglomerates out there, making Rockstar one of the world’s biggest gaming companies.
Now that we’ve discussed some of the milestones of this game, it’s time to discuss what makes it such a success. Let’s start with story-telling.
The Three Musketeers
You get to play three distinct characters in the game’s single-player campaign: Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. They all have eccentric stories and unique skills that change how you play the game. Moreover, the game masterfully crafts their stories together so that each character has a unique role in the campaign.
Because of this, you get varied perspectives from each of them. Their unique personalities also add to these perspectives, making playing each character a blast. The three musketeers will ensure that you are immersed in the game world for as long as possible.
San Andreas
San Andreas is the game’s backdrop, and some gamers know this place like the back of their hand. This is because it’s such a fantastic backdrop with enough biodiversity to make the world thrive and be alive. It immerses you into the world entirely because both criminal and non-criminal activities are happening in real-time.
For example, you can catch thieves that steal from civilians walking around minding their own business. Once you catch the thief, you can choose to return the money or keep it to yourself. Each decision has varying consequences.
No other game has placed this much emphasis on its backdrop. The way you can interact with the world is phenomenal, and it can easily make you feel like you’re living inside San Andreas.
Aged Like Fine Wine
GTA V, especially GTA Online, has aged like fine wine. There is no other online experience like GTA Online. You can do everything you can do in real-life, aside from high-stakes bank heists and shootouts, of course. Moreover, the game is now accessible to even more people.
When it was released, people needed a high-powered rig to run it. But nowadays, any gaming laptop can run it with no problem. Functionality plays a big role in gaming, and Rockstar continued to tweak its game to ensure that players don’t get severe lag or frame-rate drops while playing. Such things can only break immersion, and breaking immersion from the game means less playtime.
A Culture That’ll Last Forever
If you’ve seen or met some streamers of this game, you might have seen that almost every stream is unique. Some streamers are looking into ways of beating the game as fast as possible, while others try to create as much chaos as they can. There is also a special breed of streamers who role-play as if they are in the game itself. They do jobs and mundane tasks like NPCs do. Additionally, some can take the role of a cop and arrest any troublemakers in the game.
There are more many unique players and streamers who play this game. Because of how much time and effort these people have placed into the game, they have created a culture that’ll last forever.
GTA V is something that every video game developer should strive for. Now that you know what makes it successful, it’s time to implement its ideas as your own.
Meta title: What Makes Grand Theft Auto V a Successful Video Game
meta desc: If you’re a gamer, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Grand Theft Auto V. It’s a video game that keeps on giving. Learn more about its success here.
