Take-Two's holiday sales forecast overshadows quarterly beat

(Reuters) - Videogame publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ: TTWO) forecast holiday-quarter revenue below expectations, as console-based titles face stiff competition from online free-to-play games that attract a more younger audience.

The company's shares fell about 2% to $114.70 in after-market trading.

The tepid forecast overshadowed a better-than-expected second quarter adjusted revenue, boosted by the success of its flagship basketball game "NBA 2K20", "Borderlands 3" and "Red Dead Redemption 2".

"NBA 2K20" and "Borderlands 3", the latest installment in the popular first-person shooter series that launched in September, are among the best-selling games of this year, according to research firm NPD.

"Borderlands 3" sold nearly 7 million units worldwide since its launch, the company said on the post-earnings conference call.

The company, behind franchises like "Grand Theft Auto V" and "Red Dead Redemption 2", forecast third-quarter adjusted revenue between $860.0 million and $910.0 million, below analysts' estimates of $928.1 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

For the full year, the company expects adjusted revenue between $2.75 billion and $2.85 billion, compared to estimates of $2.80 billion.

The forecast comes at a time when console-based game franchises are competing with mobile-based, free-to-play games with engaging formats, which are challenging the dominance of traditional publishers like Take-Two and its rivals Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA).

On an adjusted basis, Take-Two reported a revenue of $950.5 million in the second quarter ended Sept. 30, beating estimates of $925.6 million.

Net income rose to $71.8 million, or 63 cents per share, from $25.4 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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