Rockstar Games

There was a time when westerns were a staple of American pop-culture -- a powerhouse genre for film, television, books and more. That trend kind of died in the 1980s, but maybe it's coming back. Take-Two Interactive, the company that owns Rockstar games reported in its quarterly financials that Red Dead Redemption 2 sold over 17 million copies in just over a week.

It took the original Red Dead Redemption 8 years to sell 15 million copies.

It's a shockingly huge number -- but if you've been keeping track, it might not be that big of a surprise. Just after the game's launch, the company revealed that it made over $725 million in its first few days, the largest opening weekend of any entertainment property ever, according to Rockstar. That's what happens when your game is one of the most anticipated, well-reviewed games in a decade.

Those aren't the only accolades Take-Two called out, either: Rockstar's Cowboy epic is apparently the most pre-ordered full game ever sold on PlayStation Network, as well as the biggest day-one sales of any digital PlayStation games.

That's a strong start for a western, to be sure, but it could just be the beginning. In addition to the base game, Rockstar is planning to launch Red Dead Online -- a highly anticipated multiplayer expansion that takes place in Red Dead Redemption 2's open world.

News about that came out of Take-Two's financial report too, with CEO Strauss Zelnick (chairman of the board at CBS, CNET's parent company) saying the online beta would launch at some point near the end of November.