Mafia 3 is 2K’s ‘fastest-selling’ game ever

2K Games shipped more than 4.5 million copies of Mafia 3 during the game’s first week on sale, making it the fastest-selling game in its history, according to the label. It announced the achievement as part of its most recent earnings report, published Nov. 2 and marking the end of the second fiscal quarter.

At 4.5 million units shipped to retailers — not sold through to actual players — Mafia 3 is halfway to the benchmark set by Borderlands 2. At more than 10 million copies sold, the game became the publisher’s highest-selling game in its history.

Mafia 3 launched to mixed reviews, although it garnered some praise for its storyline. The game stars African-American Lincoln Clay, a New Orleans native who gets involved with mafiosos amid racial tensions in the late ‘60s.

There’s downloadable content still on its way to Mafia 3, as part of its season pass. There’s also a mobile game based on the title available now; Mafia 3 Rivals is free to play.

2K Games is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, as is Rockstar Games, developer of Grand Theft Auto. While Mafia 3 is 2K Games’ fastest-seller, Take-Two announced during a call to investors that it has shipped 70 million copies of Grand Theft Auto 5 thus far. That’s the developer’s biggest game to-date, further buoyed by the success of online component Grand Theft Auto Online.