Grand Theft Auto 5 has officially broken seven Guinness world records, including the highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours.
The latest addition to the GTA franchise debuted on Sept. 17 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, selling 11.21 million units in its first 24 hours and netting $815.7 million in revenue for developer Rockstar North and publisher Rockstar Games. The action-adventure title went on to reach $1 billion in sales after just three days on the market.
Thanks to its impressive performance, GTA 5 has smashed records previously held by the Call of Duty video game series and blockbuster movies like The Avengers and Avatar. It now also holds the titles of the best-selling action-adventure video game over 24 hours, best-selling video game in 24 hours, fastest entertainment property to gross $1 billion, fastest video game to gross $1 billion, highest grossing videogame in 24 hours, and most viewed trailer for an action-adventure videogame, Guinness World Records announced on Tuesday.
"GTA totally deserves to be recognized as an icon of modern British culture, and we're thrilled to be able to feature the game in the record books," Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said in a statement. "Gaming is no longer a niche hobby, as GTA 5 has proved, and how exciting that it's taken on the might of Hollywood and won!"
Meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto Online launched on Oct. 1, and faced some glitches as millions of gamers try to access the network simultaneously. Grand Theft Auto Online is free for those who purchased GTA 5, and includes more than 500 missions and countless leisure activities for players to explore in a living, open world.
In some cases, life has imitated art when it comes to the violent game. London police last month arrested three teenagers who attacked a man who had just purchased a copy of GTA 5. In the U.S., three men posed as New York City police officers in an effort to be first in line at the Staten Island Mall to buy the new title.
For more, see PCMag's full review of Grand Theft Auto V (for PlayStation 3) and the slideshow above.
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