Take-Two Q2 FY26 Results: Record Bookings, Mafia Shines, Borderlands 4 Stumbles, RDR2 Hits 79M, GTA 5 Still Dominates
- Sagar Mankar
- 1 minute ago
- 4 min read
Take-Two Interactive’s second-quarter financial results are out, and while the numbers look strong across the board, the big headline-grabbing everyone’s attention is yet another delay for Grand Theft Auto 6. Yes, it’s official! Rockstar’s next blockbuster won’t arrive until November 19, 2026.
According to Take-Two, the delay is meant to give Rockstar “additional time to finish the game with the high level of polish players expect and deserve.” It’s not the news anyone wanted to hear, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Rockstar, it’s that they never rush perfection.
A Record-Breaking Quarter… With a Catch
For the quarter ending September 30, 2025, Take-Two reported some of its strongest financials to date:
Net revenue: $1.77 billion (up 31% year-over-year)
Net bookings: $1.96 billion (up 33%)
Net loss: $133.9 million (a big improvement over last year’s $365.5 million loss)
According to CEO Strauss Zelnick, this was the “best second quarter” in the company’s history. Net bookings exceeded expectations by a wide margin, thanks to powerhouse releases like NBA 2K26, Mafia: The Old Country, and a surprisingly strong performance from the mobile division.
“We saw 33% growth in bookings and a 20% rise in recurrent consumer spending,” Zelnick said during the earnings call. “That’s a record for Take-Two.”
Mobile Is the Money-Maker
Interestingly, while most people associate Take-Two with console and PC giants like Rockstar and 2K, the company’s mobile business continues to be its biggest earner. Mobile accounted for 46% of total revenue this quarter, more than triple Rockstar’s share of 15%.
Zelnick told GamesIndustry.biz that mobile “has grown faster than the console and PC parts of the business,” naming Toon Blast and Match Factory as top performers.
Toon Blast grew 26% year-over-year.
Match Factory achieved record net bookings, up 20%.
Rollic, another Take-Two mobile developer, surpassed 3.8 billion lifetime downloads.
The CSR Racing series crossed $1 billion in lifetime player spending.
It’s a staggering figure, showing that Take-Two’s 2020 acquisition of Zynga was worth every penny.
Borderlands 4’s “Soft” Start
While NBA 2K26 and Mafia: The Old Country delivered stellar results, Borderlands 4 didn’t quite hit the bullseye. Zelnick admitted that the launch was “a little softer” than expected due to performance issues, especially on PC.
“The critical acclaim for Borderlands 4 was superb,” he told IGN. “But there were challenges with optimization and performance on Steam. Gearbox has been addressing those challenges and will continue to do so. In the fullness of time, we think it’s going to do great.”
Despite its rocky start, Borderlands 4 managed to hit record numbers in terms of concurrent Steam players and launch-week viewership, peaking at 30 million YouTube views and the top spot on Twitch during its debut.
Even U.S. data firm Circana reported that Borderlands 4 was the top-selling premium game of September 2025 and the third best-selling game of the year so far.
Mafia: The Old Country - A Franchise Reborn
If Borderlands 4 stumbled, Mafia: The Old Country more than made up for it. Released in August 2025, the prequel to the crime saga was a critical and commercial hit.
Speaking with IGN, Zelnick confirmed that The Old Country “performed well ahead of expectations,” adding that it has “reaffirmed the value of premium, narrative-driven games.”
“We’re really excited about Mafia,” he said. “It’s sort of a reset for the franchise. The team did a fantastic job. We don’t have anything new to announce yet, but it performed extremely well.”
Analytics seem to support this. According to Circana, in August 2025, Mafia: The Old Country ranked third among the Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games in the USA.
Fans and critics alike praised The Old Country for its grounded storytelling and $49.99 price point, a refreshing shift from bloated AAA budgets.
GTA 6 Delayed Again - Here’s What Zelnick Says
Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Grand Theft Auto 6. Originally set for a 2025 release, then pushed to May 2026, and now to November 19, 2026, it’s clear Rockstar isn’t rushing this one.
Zelnick remains confident, though. “We’re trying very hard to deliver the most extraordinary interactive entertainment experience ever created,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “Sometimes more time is required to polish a title, and when that happens, we give it the time it deserves.”
He added that Take-Two has “never regretted” moving a launch date, emphasizing that the company’s focus has always been quality over speed. “We’ve seen competitors release unfinished games, and they did so at their peril,” he remarked.
When asked why the company would announce a date so far in advance, Zelnick told The Game Business that the goal was transparency. “We want to give consumers as much certainty as possible. We feel quite good about this date.”
In the meantime, Rockstar continues to support GTA Online, which remains a massive revenue driver. GTA+ subscriptions are reportedly up 20% year-over-year, and GTA 5 has now sold over 220 million units worldwide. The franchise in total has now reached 460 million units.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Hits 79 Million
Hidden among all the financial news was a major milestone: Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold 79 million copies, making it the fourth best-selling game of all time. That puts it above Mario Kart 8, The Witcher 3, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
For context, only Minecraft (350M), GTA 5 (220M), and Wii Sports (82.9M) have sold more.
That’s not all. In July, Rockstar even rolled out a surprise Red Dead Online update with four new adventures, despite previously saying there would be no major future content. Clearly, there’s still life in that old horse.
The series has sold in over 106 million units worldwide.
Looking Ahead
Despite the delay of its biggest title, Take-Two remains optimistic about the future. The company has raised its full-year net bookings forecast to between $6.4 and $6.5 billion, a 14% growth projection.
“We expect to achieve record levels of net bookings in fiscal 2027,” Zelnick concluded, “and establish a new baseline for our business.”
He also hinted that while Take-Two remains open to licensing its IPs for film or TV, it won’t rush into transmedia ventures. “We’re not in the film or television business,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “The economics aren’t positive for us. We’ll only license selectively when it makes sense.”