There aren't many video games bigger than Grand Theft Auto — or GTA for short.
The action-adventure game, launched in 1997, has been both lauded and criticised for its glorification of crime, violence... and pretty much every other vice known to mankind.
But it's developed a following that would rival the population of a large country. The last instalment, GTA V, released in 2013, has sold more than 185 million copies.
"The investment that Rockstar puts into a game like this is massive... even many times what you'd spend on a big movie," said Dean Hall, chief executive of Rocketwerkz, one of New Zealand's biggest game development studios.
"It's pretty much the biggest game there is — they are investing billions into it."
Yesterday, after many rumours — and the whole thing being leaked online anyway — Rockstar, the studio behind GTA, released the trailer for the much anticipated next instalment — GTA 6.
While it was not due to be released until 2025, it sent fans into what can only be described as a meltdown.
The trailer on YouTube was viewed at least 84 million times in less than 24 hours. At the time of publishing this story it would have soared past that.
But the launch of a huge game like this is of interest to not only gamers, but also other studios, said Hall.
"All of us are looking at it not just for the culture impact — but also the business side of it.
"How are they pricing it? How are they pricing the additional content, how will they price stuff through the life of the product?"
He said that often set a standard that much of the rest of the industry would follow.
While the relatively young global gaming industry has grown by an eyewatering amount in recent years — more than NZ$345 billion in 2022 according to Grand View Research — Hall said there were some challenges ahead.
"There is a headwind coming from what I call the subscription apocalypses. The same thing that has happened to movies and music is coming to us with things like Xbox game pass."
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