Red Dead Redemption 2 maker sells 17m games in first fortnight

Rockstar's latest game in series outsells projected lifetime sales of the original

Red Dead Redemption 2 has racked up more global sales in its first eight days than its predecessor managed in eight years, according to the game's maker.

Rockstar, which is also behind the Grand Theft Auto mega-franchise, said its latest game "sold in" 17m copies of the American frontier game to retail outlets in its first 13 days on the market. The "sold in" tally is the number of copies of the game to have been ordered and shipped to retailers, not the number bought by consumers.

However, few of the 17m copies are likely to be left on shelves. The game clocked up $725m (556m) in sales on its opening weekend, making it the second biggest launch of any entertainment product in history.

In less than two weeks the title, which has received outstanding reviews and numerous "perfect" scores from games critics, has effectively outsold the estimated 15m lifetime sales of the original Red Dead Redemption, which was released in 2010.