Red Dead Redemption 2 is gaming’s biggest weekend launch … because GTA V hit on a Tuesday

Rockstar Games announced today that Red Dead Redemption 2 has had the largest opening weekend of any game in history. In fact, the studio is claiming RDR2 made more money in its first weekend than any other piece of entertainment, topping Hollywood blockbusters. But this milestone comes with a caveat, because Grand Theft Auto V launched on a Tuesday while RDR2 came out on Friday, October 26.

Red Dead Redemption 2 released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and it has earned over $725 million in worldwide retail sell-through in its first three days. That’s the second-highest grossing first three days in gaming history behind GTA V, Rockstar’s previous game, which made over $1 billion in its first three days.

Being second to Grand Theft Auto V isn’t a disgrace. The open-world crime game has sold over 95 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games of all time.

Rockstar is touting some other records for RDR2, including the biggest entertainment launch of 2018, biggest one-day sales for a full game on PlayStation Network history, and the biggest three-day sales for a full game on PSN history.

Our impressions of Red Dead Redemption 2 are in awe of the scale and complexity of Rockstar’s gigantic cowboy adventure, but we’re also disappointed that it isn’t pushing Rockstar’s boundaries when it come to innovation of game systems.