Take-Two says GTA 6 affected NBA 2K27 sales as some players waited to buy

Take-Two says GTA 6 did more than crowd out the industry’s release calendar. In its latest financial results, the company said some players held off on buying new games, including NBA 2K27, while they waited for Rockstar’s next Grand Theft Auto.

The publisher said NBA 2K27 sold 4 million units during the period, but that was below its forecast. Take-Two also described the game’s launch window as “unusually busy, with numerous entertainment experiences competing for players’ attention.” In an interview with IGN, CEO Strauss Zelnick said GTA 6 had an influence on consumers as well.

Take-Two links NBA 2K27’s opening to GTA 6

NBA 2K27 launched globally on September 4, 2026. GTA 6 is set for November 19, and Take-Two’s quarterly update suggests that gap was enough to affect buying habits before Rockstar’s game even arrived.

Zelnick told IGN the sales shortfall was tied to timing rather than a weak reception for the basketball game itself. “I do think that this timing may have affected performance so far,” he said. “It has been a crowded period, and we do think that GTA 6 coming has had an influence on the consumer.”

The company’s comments fit a broader shift in the release calendar. Several publishers have tried to avoid landing too close to GTA 6, and some projects ended up clustered in September instead. IGN pointed to titles including The Blood of Dawn Walker, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Marvel’s Wolverine and Control Resonant as part of that reshuffling.

Second-best NBA 2K launch in series history

Take-Two did not present the 4 million-unit figure as a disappointment in the wider context of the series. Zelnick said NBA 2K27 is the franchise’s second-best release in NBA 2K history and called it “an immensely successful title.”

He also said the company expects the game to improve as more content arrives through the rest of the year. “It sold 4 million units,” Zelnick said. “And in launching more content than ever before for the rest of the year, we have expectations that the title will do even better than it already has done.”

That point is important because Take-Two is treating the launch window as only one part of the game’s commercial life. The company appears to be leaning on the live content schedule to keep NBA 2K27 moving after a slower-than-expected start, while still describing the game as one of the strongest entries the series has seen. For a player looking for something basketball-shaped while waiting on the next annual release, Sports Games Plus’s basketball games hub has browser options alongside the full-price release cycle.

Quarterly revenue came in below guidance

The NBA 2K27 numbers arrived alongside Take-Two’s wider quarterly results. The company reported $1.6 billion in revenue, which came in slightly below its guidance range of $1.62 billion to $1.67 billion. Take-Two also reiterated its fiscal 2027 outlook for revenue of $8 billion to $8.2 billion.

Take-Two said fiscal 2027 will be “an historic year for Take-Two – driven by our unwavering commitment to delivering the highest quality entertainment experiences.” That forecast sits against expectations that GTA 6 will be one of the biggest entertainment launches ever, with an impact already visible in other publishers’ release plans and, according to Take-Two, in NBA 2K27’s opening sales.