Take-Two Posts $299M Profit Thanks to 'GTA Online,' 'Red Dead Online' In-Game Spending

The online components of the two popular Rockstar games continue to "exceed expectations," says Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick.

Take-Two Interactive, which owns video game publishers Rockstar Games and 2K, reported gross profits of $299 million in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2020 on Monday, while GAAP net revenue grew to $540 million, a 39 percent increase year-over-year.

The majority of revenue over the period was generated by "recurrent consumer spending" — which includes in-game purchases and add-on content to existing titles — from titles such as Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Redemption 2. Recurrent consumer spending accounted for 58 percent of total GAAP net revenue over the period.

"It’s amazing, GTA Online actually grew year-over-year," Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick tells The Hollywood Reporter. Grand Theft Auto V, the core game on which GTA Online runs, was originally released nearly six years ago in October 2013. Since then, it has become the highest-grossing media title of all time.

Zelnick also notes that Red Dead Online — the multiplayer online component of Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2, which first launched in November and officially ended its beta period in May — has "exceeded expectations" and "continues to gain momentum."

Take-Two has a number of AAA game launches on the horizon, with NBA 2K20 and Gearbox's Borderlands 3 set to bow in September and WWE 2K20 and The Outer Worlds slated for October.

As a result of the strong showing over the quarter, Take-Two adjusted its projections for next quarter and the entire fiscal year. For the second quarter of 2020, a three-month period ending on Sept. 30, Take-Two is adjusting revenue expectations from $855 million to $905 million. Meanwhile, for the full fiscal year 2020, the company is now projecting $2.9 billion in revenue, up from the $2.8 billion it previously expected.

Last quarter, Take-Two reported gross profits of $280 million, while profits for the full year topped $1.1 billion, boosted in large part by the successful launch of Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 in October and the continued success of Grand Theft Auto Online.