Take-Two Interactive revealed a very quiet quarter, even as the hype around GTA 6 launch reaches the highest levels ever. And that is why it doesn't seem worried. The publisher’s net bookings fell 18% to $1.60 billion in the fiscal second quarter ended September 30, down from $1.96 billion a year earlier and slightly below the $1.62 billion to $1.67 billion it had forecast in August. But Take-Two hasn’t changed its outlook. It still expects $8.0 billion to $8.2 billion in net bookings for the fiscal year ending March 2027, and the reason is Grand Theft Auto VI, which arrives on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19.
Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said: “The launch of Grand Theft Auto VI is ten days away and, with pre-orders continuing to reach unprecedented levels, we expect to deliver an historic year for our company.” That is language is rarely, if ever, used to talk about upcoming company results in the corporate world. However, Take-Two is the owner of GTA 6, arguably the best game in the world even though it has not even been launched yet. The money coming in is real though. GTA 6 pre-orders have hit $1 billion mark from 10 million bookings with 75% accounted by PS5 players, as per Sensor Tower data cited by Washington Post.
Most of the slowdown came from full-game sales. Full-game and other bookings dropped 44% to $299.2 million from $532.2 million. Recurrent consumer spending, which covers virtual currency and in-game purchases, fell a gentler 9% and still made up 81% of the total.
Console bookings fell 18% to $742.6 million, and mobile slipped 14% to $707.6 million. NBA 2K27, released September 4, was among the biggest contributors, along with the Grand Theft Auto series and Zynga’s Toon Blast.
There was some good news too. GAAP net revenue fell 16% to $1.50 billion, but that beat the company’s own guidance. The operating loss widened to $117.5 million, while a $57.9 million tax benefit helped narrow the net loss to $54.0 million, or $0.29 a share, from $133.9 million.
For the December quarter, when GTA 6 launches, Take-Two expects net bookings of $3.35 billion to $3.5 billion. It is forecasting net income of $250 million to $276 million, or $1.30 to $1.44 a share. With $2.99 billion in first-half bookings, the full-year target implies roughly $5.0 billion to $5.2 billion in the second half.