GTA Online attracts most players since launch following casino update

Grand Theft Auto V’s online component, GTA Online, saw an influx of players following the launch of its latest major update, which introduced the Diamond Casino & Resort.

The update helped attract the most players to GTA Online in a single day, and week, since its launch in October 2013, Rockstar told the Hollywood Reporter.

While the studio didn’t reveal official player numbers following the casino update, an in-game census from 2014 reportedly showed GTA Online boasted over 33 million active players.

Grand Theft Auto V, which is required to access GTA Online, had shipped 110 million copies by the end of publisher Take-Two’s fiscal year in March 2019.

It is reportedly the highest-grossing media title of all time, having brought in over $6 billion.

GTA Online’s Diamond Casino & Resort update introduced new story missions, social spaces and resorts activities, private, customisable penthouse suites, new cars, and of course, gambling activities, although these have been blocked in many countries due to regional restrictions.

The update lets players spend in-game currency, which can be purchased through microtransactions, on chips to gamble on activities like poker and blackjack, although winning can’t be converted into real cash.

Take-Two has said recurrent consumer spending (virtual currency, add-on content and in-game purchases) in titles such as Grand Theft Auto Online accounted for 40% of its annual revenue in its last business year.