Last week, Rockstar and Take-Two proudly announced that Red Dead Redemption 2 had launched to great success with the best opening weekend for an entertainment product ever, grossing about $725 million in retail sell-through. It was also the second best entertainment launch of all time, only yielding to another Rockstar game, the massively popular Grand Theft Auto V (over one billion). In case you're wondering, both statements hold true for one simple fact: GTA V launched on a Tuesday.
Red Dead Redemption 2 also sold very well in the United Kingdom specifically, registering the second best launch week of the year after FIFA 19. This week, though, the game comparatively fared even better as it managed to beat FIFA 19's second week according to GamesIndustry.
It only dropped by 51%, which is very good. The Top 10 chart includes the usual suspects released in the past couple months, with the addition of the newly launched Football Manager 2019 (ninth place) and Mario Kart 8: Deluxe jumping back in the top ten.
| Last Week | This Week | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Red Dead Redemption 2 |
| 2 | 2 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 |
| 3 | 3 | FIFA 19 |
| 4 | 4 | Forza Horizon 4 |
| 6 | 5 | Spider-Man |
| 5 | 6 | Assassin's Creed Odyssey |
| 10 | 7 | Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy |
| Re-Entry | 8 | LEGO Harry Potter Collection |
| New Entry | 9 | Football Manager 2019 |
| 12 | 10 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe |
Needless to say, Rockstar and Take-Two have another hit on their hands. We knew as much from the universal acclaim it received from the press, including ours, but the sales result is far higher than anticipated. The analysts at Piper Jaffray had surmised the game could sell between six and eight million units in its first weekend, but the $725 million result indicates it might have sold roughly eleven million units instead.
Besides, Red Dead Online is due to debut in beta later this month. If GTA Online is any indication, the online game over time could prove to be an even bigger hit on its own.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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