Red Dead Redemption 2 Is Shipping Like Crazy

It is both a surprise, yet not a surprise at the same time. Red Dead Redemption 2 has moved a whole lot of product. That is almost expected, given Rockstar's prior history with Grand Theft Auto 5. But did anyone think the studio would have shipped 23 million copies of RDR2 already?

That's the figure, according to Game Informer, gleaning the statistic from a Take-Two earnings call. And keep in mind, shipped games don't necessarily equate to sales. But Red Dead Redemption 2 is also selling pretty well, too. The game currently leads the NPD charts, sitting ahead of Activision's latest shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. So it's reasonable to assume that most of the 23 million copies of RDR2 have sold, giving Rockstar yet another stellar seller, nearly a decade after the studio released the first Red Dead Redemption, and nearly six years after Grand Theft Auto 5 hit last-gen consoles.

It remains to be seen what Rockstar will have up its sleeves next. Most suspect there will be another Grand Theft Auto game on the horizon, but the company has diverted from regular course in the past, putting out titles like L.A. Noire. If it's another Red Dead Redemption title, we've talked at length about what we'd like to see in it. If it's another GTA, we're interested in seeing what Rockstar can do to keep the series fresh. And if Rockstar puts out a new IP, or offers a continuation of a franchise the studio hasn't touched in years — well, that would make things much more interesting.

Rockstar has made a habit of eventually porting its major titles to PC, so that could be a focus of the studio right now. And games like the aforementioned L.A. Noire have recently found their way onto the Switch, so it stands to reason that Rockstar may even look at bringing some of its other last-gen games to that console. Whatever Rockstar's up to, though, we can safely assume that the company will take its time doing it. And when it finally arrives, that product will likely ship — and probably sell — like gangbusters.