Take-Two's profits increase 148%, Borderlands 2 ships 6 million copies

Take-Two Interactive, parent of 2K Games and Rockstar Games, has just released its financial results from the third quarter ending December 31, and the news is about as good as anyone could hope. Net revenue was at $405 million, a 71% increase, while net income hit $78.8m, which is good for a 148% increase compared to last year. Impressive doesn't even begin to describe it, especially when you look at which games helped the most.

NBA 2K13, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and Borderlands 2 were the strongest contributors to Take-Two's bottom line, with catalog sales led by Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption. Those catalog sales made up 22% of all net revenue, which is another staggering number considering GTA IV and RDR are two years old or more. Borderlands 2 has surpassed six million copies shipped, with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick calling it one of the company's most important long-term franchises.

Digital sales was another grand area for the company, as revenues rose 248% over last year and accounted for 23% of net revenue. Take-Two revealed sales of Borderlands 2 and its DLC, XCOM, NBA 2K13, and the GTA franchise were to thank for that massive jump.

When the fourth quarter ends on March 31, Take-Two is predicting a net revenue between $235 and $285 million and a full-year net revenue of $1.15 to $1.2 billion. It should be a very successful year for Take-Two, thanks in no small part to Gearbox's lootfest/shooter. The new year could be equally as profittable with Grand Theft Auto V and any next-generation titles, though Zelnick simply said there is an "extraordinary array of offerings" for those.