Uncovering the Best-Selling Grand Theft Auto Games in the UK

The Grand Theft Auto series is one of the most successful gaming franchises in the UK, with only FIFA, Call of Duty, and Mario surpassing it in terms of sales. Despite having fewer mainline entries and spin-offs compared to these franchises, GTA has managed to comfortably outsell other popular series like LEGO, Star Wars, and Pokémon. According to data from GfK, which only considers physical game sales, Grand Theft Auto 5 is the biggest title in the series, generating £94 million in revenue within its first five days of release in 2013. This figure is equivalent to the lifetime revenue of Grand Theft Auto 4, and GTA 5 has gone on to sell three times as many copies as its predecessor. Based on boxed sales alone, GTA 5 is the best-selling game of all time in the UK. Although it initially launched on Xbox 360 and PS3, the game has sold more copies on PS4 and Xbox One, with the original versions generating more revenue. The first Grand Theft Auto game was released in the UK in 1997 and initially struggled to gain traction, but it eventually became a hit. The series gained momentum with the release of Grand Theft Auto 3 in 2001, which sold more than the first two games combined and reached number one in the UK Top 40. The success of the series continued with the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, both of which reached number one in the charts. The series has since expanded to include handheld games, with titles like Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories performing well on the PSP. The release of Grand Theft Auto 4 in 2008 marked a new era for the series, with the game launching on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game's success was followed by the release of downloadable expansions, including The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. In 2009, Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS, which was critically acclaimed but struggled with sales due to piracy issues on the platform. The series has continued to evolve, with the release of Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013 and constant updates to GTA Online. The release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition in 2021 brought classic GTA titles to new platforms, and the series is expected to continue its success with the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 in 2025.