GTA IV (2008): Record Launch, Sales Ladder and Reviews

Grand Theft Auto IV is remembered for two things that pull in different directions. By Take-Two's count it was the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, with sales it believed beat any movie or music launch to that date. And it is, in our view, the most serious GTA, trading San Andreas's sprawl for one dense city and one tired immigrant. This page sets out what the record was, what kind of number each sales figure is, and why the game's real legacy is its structure: one city, built to hold three stories.

At a glance

For the man at the center of it, see Niko Bellic. For the city, see Liberty City.

What is counted, and how

Every sales figure here comes from Take-Two: a press release, an SEC filing, or an earnings call reported by Game Informer. Two kinds of number appear, and mixing them is a common error.

• Sold through means copies bought by consumers.
• Sold in means copies shipped to retailers, some of which may still be on shelves.

Take-Two's June 2008 filing gives both for the same date, which shows the gap. As of May 31, 2008: over 11 million sold in, about 8.5 million sold through. 11 - 8.5 = roughly 2.5 million copies were in the retail channel and not yet in players' hands, about a month after launch.

The dollar figures at launch ($310 million, $500 million) are estimated retail value, not Take-Two revenue. Take-Two's own revenue on those copies was lower, because retailers and platform holders take a share.

Left out: Guinness World Records entries for GTA IV are widely reported, but we could not open the record pages themselves, so they are not cited here.

The setup

Rockstar's 2010 Complete Edition release sets it up in one line: Niko Bellic, an "Eastern European immigrant," arrives in Liberty City trying to reconcile his past. That is as far as this page goes; the rest is best played. The tone is closer to a crime novel than to the earlier games' satire, though the radio and TV keep the series' jokes. The New York Times named it its 2008 game of the year, with critic Seth Schiesel calling it one of the few games that tries to take on the real world in an adult way (Engadget, Dec 21 2008).

What it changed

It launched on two new HD consoles on the same day. That cost time. On Aug 2, 2007, Take-Two moved the game out of October 2007. Chairman Strauss Zelnick said certain elements of development had been more time-intensive than expected, "especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms" (Game Developer, Aug 2 2007).

Online play went into the main game. Pre-release coverage reported up to 16 online players across 15 modes (Shacknews, Mar 14 2008, citing Spain's official PlayStation magazine). The PC version, announced in August 2008, promised expanded multiplayer.

It was planned from the start to grow. Before launch, Take-Two disclosed that Microsoft was paying $50 million for exclusive Xbox 360 episodic content, in two $25 million parts tied to two episodes (Game Developer, Jun 18 2007). Those became The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. Both tell new stories that run alongside Niko's, in the same city, often in the same scenes.

The sales ladder

Every GTA IV sales figure from Take-Two that we could open, in date order, with the type of number stated.

Arithmetic:

• Day one to week one: 6 - 3.6 = about 2.4 million more copies sold through in the next six days.
• Week one to May 31: 8.5 - 6 = about 2.5 million more in roughly the next three and a half weeks. The launch spike did most of the work.
• March 2010 to July 2013: 25 - 15 = 10 million more in about three years and five months, a period that includes both episodes' PS3 and PC releases and the 2010 Complete Edition.
• Days after launch are counted from Apr 29, 2008. Apr 29, 2008 to Mar 3, 2010 is 673 days; to Jul 30, 2013 is 1,918 days.

The October 2013 filing adds a ceiling. It says GTA V sold in "nearly 29 million units," exceeding GTA IV's lifetime sell-in on console, in under six weeks. So GTA IV's console sell-in, at that point, was below 29 million. For how these figures sit against the rest of the series, see GTA sales history.

Reception

GTA IV was reviewed on consoles first and on PC seven months later.

In October 2010, Take-Two called GTA IV the "highest-rated title of this console generation," citing Metacritic ratings for all Xbox 360 and PS3 titles as of Oct 25, 2010. The PC version sits 8 points lower (98 - 90 = 8). That gap is the clearest number behind the PC port's reputation. Read scores in context on our review scores page.

Platform rollout

This table counts the days from the console launch to each later release.

The 2020 PC relaunch was a step back as well as forward. With Microsoft's Games for Windows Live retired, the Complete Edition on PC dropped multiplayer and leaderboards, and three radio stations (RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM and Vice City FM) were taken off the air, at least for a time (HotHardware). More on the music on our radio stations page.

Legacy

GTA IV's lasting idea is the shared city. Rockstar's 2010 release describes the Complete Edition as "three distinct stories, interwoven": Niko's scenes are replayed from the other side in the two episodes, which we map scene by scene on the Ballad of Gay Tony page. That structure, one map and several lives crossing in it, is in our view the clearest forerunner of GTA V's three protagonists, and of Lucia and Jason's two-lead story in GTA VI.

Liberty City itself also carries forward. Rockstar's GTA VI site says Lucia wants the good life her mom has dreamed of "since their days in Liberty City." Nothing Rockstar has published says Liberty City is playable in GTA VI; treat any claim otherwise as unconfirmed (see confirmed vs rumor).

Trivia

• The first published review was a 10/10 in Official Xbox Magazine UK's May issue, reported Apr 14, 2008, two weeks before release (Engadget).
• Microsoft's first $25 million payment was tied to an episode then slated for March 2008, before GTA IV itself had shipped (Game Developer, Jun 18 2007). The first episode arrived in February 2009.
• The Complete Edition's 2010 retail price was $39.99 / GBP 34.99 / EUR 49.99 (Take-Two, Oct 27 2010).

Sources

• Take-Two Interactive, 8-K exhibit 99.1, Jun 5 2008
• Take-Two press release, May 7 2008, via HEXUS and via The GTA Place
• Take-Two Interactive, 8-K exhibit 99.1, Mar 3 2010
• Game Informer, Mike Futter, Jul 30 2013
• Take-Two Interactive, 8-K exhibit 99.1, Oct 29 2013
• Game Developer, Take-Two delays GTA IV, Aug 2 2007
• Game Developer, Brandon Boyer, $50M 360 content deal, Jun 18 2007
• Shacknews, Chris Faylor, Mar 14 2008
• GTAMP, Rockstar PC announcement, Aug 7 2008
• Metacritic, Grand Theft Auto IV
• OpenCritic, Grand Theft Auto IV reviews
• Joystiq via Engadget, Metareview, Apr 27 2008
• Joystiq via Engadget, First GTA IV review, Apr 14 2008
• Joystiq via Engadget, NY Times Game of the Year, Dec 21 2008
• Take-Two (Business Wire), Complete Edition Now Available, Oct 27 2010
• HotHardware, Shane McGlaun, Feb 19 2020
• Take-Two (Business Wire), The Lost and Damned Now Available, Feb 17 2009
• Take-Two (Business Wire), The Ballad of Gay Tony and Episodes From Liberty City Now Available, Oct 29 2009
• Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto VI: Only in Leonida