Red Dead Redemption proves Rockstar is bigger than GTA
The open-world western sells five million in three weeks and turns the company around
Quick facts
- Released
- 18 May 2010, PS3 and Xbox 360
- Three weeks in
- Over 5 million units sold in (per Take-Two's earnings release)
- FY2011
- Revenue up 49% to $1.14B; $123M loss became $48.5M profit
What happened
Red Dead Redemption launched for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 18 May 2010, trading Rockstar's cities for the closing years of the American frontier and outlaw John Marston's forced hunt for his old gang. Three weeks later, Take-Two's quarterly earnings release reported the title had already sold in over five million units, carrying what the company called a near-perfect Metacritic score of 95. The fiscal year it led saw Take-Two's revenue rise 49 percent to 1.14 billion dollars, swinging the company from a 123 million dollar loss to a 48.5 million dollar profit.
Why it matters
Until Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar's commercial weight rested on one franchise. A western, a genre publishers considered box-office poison, selling like a GTA title proved the studio's open-world formula travelled, and it gave Rockstar its second pillar: Red Dead now anchors the company alongside GTA.
How we know
The release date, the five-million figure, and the Metacritic characterization come from Take-Two's own earnings release three weeks after launch, filed with the SEC; the full-year revenue and profit swing come from the fiscal 2011 annual report. IGN's review, published the day before release, documents the contemporary reception.
Sources
- IGN. Red Dead Redemption review (IGN, contemporary, 17 May 2010) (2010) · 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 Q2 fiscal 2010 results press release, 8 June 2010 (8-K exhibit, SEC EDGAR) (2010) · 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)
- Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.. Take-Two Interactive annual report (10-K) for fiscal year 2011, filed May 2011 (SEC EDGAR) (2011) · 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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