Take-Two Keeps Its $8 Billion Forecast as GTA 6 Pre-Orders Run Far Ahead of Plan

Take-Two Interactive kept its fiscal 2027 forecast of $8 billion to $8.2 billion in net bookings on November 9. It did so while saying Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders are "tracking far in excess of our initial expectations," without giving a single pre-order figure. Instead, chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick said "the numbers will speak for themselves soon enough" in his prepared remarks for the earnings call.

So the forecast is carrying more weight than it looks. The range has not moved since August, even though the second quarter came in short. That means slightly more now has to come from the months around the November 19 launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Take-Two's second-quarter results fell just short of guidance

For the three months ended September 30, net bookings fell 18% to $1.60 billion, just under the $1.62 billion to $1.67 billion the company had guided to. GAAP net revenue dropped 16% to $1.50 billion, and the net loss narrowed to $54.0 million, or $0.29 per share, from $133.9 million a year earlier, according to the earnings release.

The shortfall came from basketball, not Vice City. NBA 2K27 has sold over 4 million units and posted the second-best net bookings in the series' history, yet it still landed below forecast in what Zelnick called an unusually busy launch window. Mobile performed in line with plans, while the Grand Theft Auto series beat its forecast.

Grand Theft Auto V is still doing its part, too. It has now sold nearly 235 million units, and spending across the series and average monthly GTA+ membership both grew by double-digit percentages.

GTA 6 pre-orders beat Take-Two's plan, but the forecast held

Executives were not shy about the pre-orders. Zelnick's statement in the release described them as "continuing to reach unprecedented levels," and chief financial officer Lainie Goldstein called them "extraordinary" in her remarks on the call.

The headline number stayed put anyway. With $2.99 billion booked across the first two quarters, reaching the range requires roughly $5.01 billion to $5.21 billion between October and March. Rockstar Games is expected to supply about 37% of the year's net bookings, ahead of mobile arm Zynga at 34% and 2K at 29%.

The outlook also leans on the pricier version of the game. Goldstein said it assumes strong growth in player spending on the Grand Theft Auto series, largely from "robust sales" of the Grand Theft Auto VI: Ultimate Edition, which includes add-on content.

Take-Two expects GTA 6 to nearly double its holiday quarter

The clearest sign of the game's weight is the guidance for the quarter ending December 31. Take-Two expects net bookings of $3.35 billion to $3.5 billion, nearly double the $1.76 billion of the same quarter a year earlier, and net income of $250 million to $276 million.

Costs climb with it. Operating expenses on the company's management basis are set to rise about 21% in that quarter, mainly from launch marketing. That campaign has included an extended look at the game that premiered on Netflix and reached 31 million consumers in its first four days, according to Zelnick.

It also includes a "Night In Vice City" NBA game, with the Miami Heat playing as Vice City against the Milwaukee Bucks, and a run of in-person events in Miami.

What happens after GTA 6 launches on November 19

For players, nothing in the results changes the plan. The launch date holds at November 19, and President Karl Slatoff said pre-loads are rolling out across the world, so the download can already be on your console before launch day.

Take-Two has not said when it will share sales figures. Its next quarterly report covers the quarter ending December 31, and no date has been set for it yet. Until then, the pre-orders remain an adjective rather than a figure, and the $8 billion forecast is the only number the company has put on the line.