GTA 5 estimated to be the most profitable entertainment product of all time

With an estimated 90 million copies sold across all platforms—PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One and PC—GTA 5 is thought to have accrued somewhere in the vicinity of $6 billion since launch in 2013. As reported by MarketWatch (via RockstarIntel), this makes Take Two and Rockstar's open world crime sim more successful than both Star Wars and Gone With The Wind—which are said to have made upwards of $3 billion, adjusted for inflation.

Speaking to MarketWatch, Cowen analyst Doug Creutz reckons subsequent DVD and streaming sales might add up to $1 billion onto these films' lifetime values. GTA 5, though, still sits above them.

"I think it’s a wild outlier," says Creutz. "I think maybe with the exception something Nintendo has made—Mario Brothers—but aside from that there’s never been a console game that’s sold so many units."

For perspective, Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all time having made $2.78 billion. And as GTA 5's Online counterpart continues to expand, the game's profits aren't likely to slow down any time soon.

When asked: "What's the most you've ever spent on a game?" by the PCG Q&A a few weeks back, I fessed up to having splashed nearly £100 in just eight weeks on GTA Online. Riding the wave of its post-Doomsday Heist record-breaking player count, I've thrown myself into Grand Theft Auto 5 without restraint. And it seems I'm far from alone. As I wean myself off of Shark Cards (no one needs to know about the Great White I bought at the weekend, right?), let me point you towards our GTA Online money making guide. We've also got some GTA 5 cheats for the regular game.