Rockstar Games is back in the spotlight, but this time not because of the official announcements. A new data leak resulting from a recent hack and the studio’s refusal to pay extortionists has revealed the inside story of Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online. The most powerful thing about this drain is financial statistics, which forces us to reconsider our views on the “whales” in the gaming industry. On March 13, eye-popping details became known: in 2020, one user spent more than $1 million per transaction on Shark Cards in GTA Online.
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Purchase of Shark Cards for $1 million in GTA Online: details of the drain
If you thought that a couple hundred dollars for a donation was a lot, then Rockstar Games has other data on this. vx-underground, a user specializing in cybersecurity and technical insiders, has published financial calculations on Shark Cards. It turned out that in 2020, a transaction was recorded for an insane amount — $1,030,926. And these are not total fees per day, but, judging by the structure of the table, a single payment from one very wealthy fan.
By the way, the overall figures are no less impressive.:
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Over the ten years of Shark Cards’ existence, Rockstar Games has brought in about $5 billion.
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In 2017, in North America, someone “deposited” $984,000 into the game with a single check.
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The third largest purchase in the history of multiplayer was $953,000.
Record Shark Card Transactions on December 25th and the Christmas Spending Phenomenon
Everyone in the community is emotional right now — the players are arguing about how such payments are technically possible. However, vx-underground data indicates dozens of transactions exceeding $500,000. Tellingly, almost all record transactions occur on December 25th. It looks like someone in North America is making themselves truly royal gifts for Catholic Christmas by buying up virtual currency in bundles.
Against the background of such figures, even the most ambitious forecasts of analysts for the monetization of the future Grand Theft Auto 6 seem conservative. The microtransaction market in the AAA segment has long gone beyond the usual understanding, becoming a playground for super-rich users. For Rockstar Games, this is not just luck, but a machine built over the years to turn virtual content into real billions. It’s hardly a coincidence. Rather, it is an ideal calculation of psychological triggers and seasonal demand.
