The studio behind 'Grand Theft Auto' and 'Red Dead Redemption' will donate 5% of in-game purchase revenue to coronavirus relief
- Game studio Rockstar Games announced on Tuesday it will donate 5% of revenue from in-game purchases from its online games "Grand Theft Auto Online" and "Red Dead Online" to coronavirus relief funds.
- Both are online multiplayer modes that are tacked on to Rockstar's immensely popular games "Grand Theft Auto 5" and "Red Dead Redemption 2."
- It's hard to get a handle on exactly how much money this will add up to, but "GTA Online" has become a big money-spinner for the company since its initial launch in 2013.
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Rockstar Games, the studio behind the wildly popular "Grand Theft Auto" and "Red Dead Redemption" series, has announced that it will donate a portion of its revenue to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Rockstar said from 1 April through till the end of May it will donate 5% of the money it gets from in-game purchases in the online multiplayer versions of its games, "GTA Online" and "Red Dead Online," which come with its games "Grand Theft Auto 5" and "Red Dead Redemption 2."
Rockstar has not yet made clear exactly where the money will be going, but its focus seems to be on economic relief.
"These funds will be used to help local communities and businesses struggling with the impacts of COVID-19, both directly and by supporting some of the amazing organizations who are on the ground helping those affected by this crisis," the company wrote in its statement.
"GTA Online" first came out in 2013, while "Red Dead Online" was launched in May last year. In both games, players are able to spend real-world money to buy in-game currency.
According to Rockstar's parent company Take-Two, online spending makes up a sizeable chunk of its business. According to its 2019 annual report: "virtual currency, add-on content, and in-game purchases" made up 40% of its net revenue in 2019 (although this includes revenue from titles outside of Rockstar). Overall Take-Two reported $2.6 billion in revenue for 2019.
Take-Two also noted in its 2019 annual report that it saw a $53.4 million increase in revenue for "GTA Online" alone compared to the previous year.
