Take Two's sales soar as video games become the escape route of 2020

If I could escape... I would, but first of all, GTA. Grand Theft Auto might not be Gwen Stefani's version of escape, but it is for millions in the corona-conomy. Digital fantasy worlds apparently thrive in a pandemic/recession: video game publisher Take Two nearly doubled its profit last quarter. Now T2's stock price is at a record high, up 35% from its pre-COVID highs.

• +54%: How much T2's sales soared from March to June, a 1st fiscal quarter record.
• +127%: The spending surge from microtransactions in games like NBA 2K and GTA.
• People were not only spending more on T2's games, but also spending more in T2's games.

T2's not the only one... It's all connected in the gaming industry. US spending on video games surged 26% in June, the highest for the month in over 10 years. That lifted the tide for all gaming players, both on the hardware and software side:

• Sony's gaming sales surged 33%, helping it crush earnings estimates. Sony's PlayStation Plus subscription service added a best-recorded 3.4M users. Now Sony's gearing up to launch its next gen of PlayStation consoles just in time for the holidays.
• Microsoft's gaming sales soared 64% thanks to Xbox games and subscriptions. Microsoft is now working on integrating Xbox with its upcoming "Netflix for games" service, which lets you play from your smartphone or tablet.