GTA V turns 10: The impact and legacy of Rockstar's biggest game - and why sequel is taking so long

GTA V has sold 185 million copies and earned publisher Take-Two a reported $ 8bn in revenue.

The gap between GTA V and its sequel, which the studio only acknowledged it was working on last year , is comfortably the longest in the franchise's history.

GTA V is the fastest entertainment product in history to make $ 1bn ( 792 m) and the most profitable ever made.

The series has long been deliberately provocative, with GTA III's casual approach to violence rankling a country left reeling after Columbine school shooting in 1999 .

Writer Trevor Strunk says GTA transcends criticism 20 years on.

But Strunk, author of Story Mode: Video Games And The Interplay Between Consoles And Culture, says it's difficult writing satire after 2016 .

A recent earnings call at publisher Take-Two suggested the company was expecting "record levels of operating performance" in the next financial year .

But that means it could arrive as late as March 2025 - even that may be an optimistic date.

Bloomberg 's Schreier says the game's "humongous and dense scope" means even that is optimistic.