2K reports record-setting retailer demand for Mafia 3

Take-Two Interactive reported its latest quarterly earnings today, making sure to call out the fact that Hangar 13's Mafia 3 has set a new record for subsidiary 2K Games in terms of first-week sell-in.

It's important to remember that sell-in typically means copies sold to retailers, not copies sold to players; still, game industry watchers may appreciate knowing that 4.5 million units of Mafia 3 were sold in within a week after launch.

According to Take-Two, that's more first-week sell-in than any 2K game to date. It suggests that the risks Hangar 13 took in producing the game -- including building a team and engine from scratch to make an open-world game aimed at accurately depicting, at least in some part, the realities of life as a black man in Louisiana in the '60s -- paid off, at least in the eyes of the market.

For more on the design and development of Mafia 3, check out this op-ed on how it employs prejudice as a game mechanic and our earlier interview with creative director (and studio chief) Haden Blackman. 

Take-Two's results itself were fairly impressive, with net revenue up 21% to $420 million, though GAAP profit was $36 million, down slightly from $55 million a year previously. Both of these figures beat analyst guidance, and most notably, revenue was up year on year for Grand Theft Auto Online, which is powered by earnings from both virtual currency and DLC.