Red Dead Redemption 2 scores the “single-biggest opening weekend in the history of entertainment”

Well that was quick… this morning, Rockstar Games revealed that Red Dead Redemption 2 has pulled off some insane numbers during the first few days of availability, which apparently gives it the honor of being the “single-biggest opening weekend in the history of entertainment” (meaning Friday, Saturday and Sunday) with $725 million in sales worldwide.

While Grand Theft Auto V apparently pulled in slightly higher $1 billion in retail sell-through back in the day in a similar time period (making RDR2 the second biggest there), it launched on a Tuesday which puts it in a different category.

As for other records, Red Dead Redemption 2 is currently the “Biggest entertainment launch of 2018”, “Most pre-ordered full game ever on PlayStation Network”, “Biggest day one full game sales ever on PlayStation Network” and “Biggest first three days full game sales ever on PlayStation Network”. Pretty impressive stuff, especially with the high quality releases we’ve seen this generation on the PS Store.

See the press release below!

Rockstar Games is proud to announce that the critically acclaimed Red Dead Redemption 2 has achieved the single-biggest opening weekend in the history of entertainment*. With over $725 million in worldwide retail sell-through during its first three days, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the second-highest grossing entertainment launch of all time next to Rockstar Games? previously released title, Grand Theft Auto V, which achieved over $1 billion in retail sell-through in three days.*

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) also confirmed that Red Dead Redemption 2 set new records on the PlayStation Network for highest ever pre-orders, highest day one sales and highest sales for the first three days in market.

Rockstar Games has partnered with SIE to bring PlayStation 4 players first access to earn select online content in Red Dead Online that is planned to release this November.

Red Dead Redemption 2?s list of initial benchmarks include:

  • Biggest opening weekend in retail sell-through across all entertainment releases;
  • Second biggest launch (three days) in retail sell-through across all entertainment releases;
  • Biggest entertainment launch of 2018;
  • Most pre-ordered full game ever on PlayStation Network;
  • Biggest day one full game sales ever on PlayStation Network;
  • Biggest first three days full game sales ever on PlayStation Network.

An epic tale of honor and loyalty set in the dying days of the outlaw age, Red Dead Redemption 2 follows Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang as they rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. Following a botched robbery in the western town of Blackwater, the gang is forced to flee and, with federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, leaving Arthur to make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him.

Told across the deepest and most expansive Rockstar world to date, Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar?s first game built from the ground up for new generation hardware, and seamlessly blends gameplay and storytelling in a completely new way to deliver the experience of living as an outlaw in a notorious gang.

Reviews are outstanding:

· ?What Rockstar has delivered in Red Dead Redemption 2 is not just the best game of the year, but the best game of the decade. It does not set a new bar, but rather signals a changing of the guard, a new future for video games, as everything that comes after will be launching in a post-Red Dead Redemption 2 world.” – The Hollywood Reporter

· ?This is a game of rare quality; a meticulously polished open world ode to the outlaw era. Looking for one of this generation?s very best single-player action experiences? Here?s your huckleberry.” – 10/10 IGN

· “This is a story ? a collection of stories, really ? about the decline of a way of life, as a small gang of outlaws tries ever harder to outrun the inexorable advance of American modernity, as well as the enemies and lawmen they have antagonized along the way…There can be no doubt that this is a landmark game. It is a new high water-mark for lifelike video game worlds…” – 5/5 The Guardian

· “Red Dead Redemption 2 has undoubtedly raised the bar for narrative open-world games and will likely have a lasting impact on how they are made in the future. It pushes the envelope of what we understand is possible in a video game. It seems that every time we get something new from Rockstar, things inevitably change.” – CNET

· “Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar?s best game; a grand, magnificent adventure that?s vast yet intimate. It delivers a story full of drama and tragedy, not to mention levity and love, and it compacts it all into the most inventive and compelling missions and moments in Rockstar?s history… It’s a landmark moment for the open world genre, and for the medium as a whole.” – GQ UK

Red Dead Redemption 2 will also include access to Red Dead Online. Red Dead Online is the evolution of the classic multiplayer experience in the original Red Dead Redemption, blending narrative with competitive and cooperative gameplay in fun new ways. Red Dead Online is planned for launch in November 2018, initially as a public beta, with more news to come soon.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is rated M for Mature by the ESRB. For more information, please visit www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption2.

*Red Dead Redemption 2 launched on a Friday so that its ?opening weekend? (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) is the same as its first three days, while Grand Theft Auto V launched on a Tuesday.