GTA IV opens the HD era with a record week
Liberty City rebuilt in high definition, and the biggest entertainment launch reported to date
Quick facts
- Released
- 29 April 2008, PS3 and Xbox 360
- First week
- ~6 million units, over $500M retail value (as reported in Take-Two's 10-K)
- Franchise share of Take-Two revenue, FY2008
- 46.2%
- By mid-2010
- Over 17 million units sold
What happened
Grand Theft Auto IV shipped for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 29 April 2008, rebuilding Liberty City as a dense, rain-slicked immigrant story around Niko Bellic. IGN's review, published four days before launch, opened its verdict with a single line: this is the American dream. Take-Two's annual report recorded the launch week the way the industry press did at the time: reported as surpassing all-time entertainment records for first-day and first-week retail sales, with approximately six million units bought globally in the first week at an estimated retail value of more than 500 million dollars. For that fiscal year, Grand Theft Auto titles were 46.2 percent of Take-Two's entire revenue.
Why it matters
GTA IV set the template for the modern blockbuster game launch: midnight openings, review embargoes lifting to perfect scores, and week-one numbers compared to Hollywood instead of to other games. By mid-2010 Take-Two reported it had sold over 17 million units.
How we know
The release date, the six-million-unit and 500-million-dollar week-one figures, and the 46.2 percent revenue share come from Take-Two's fiscal 2008 annual report; the filing itself attributes the records language to industry reporting ('it has been reported'), and we keep that attribution. The contemporary reception is documented by IGN's launch review.
Sources
- IGN. Grand Theft Auto IV review (IGN, contemporary, 25 April 2008) (2008) · Reputable sourceign.com · The domain "ign.com" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.. Take-Two Interactive annual report (10-K) for fiscal year 2008, filed December 2008 (SEC EDGAR) (2008) · Primary source (author-declared)sec.gov · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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