(Reuters) -Take-Two Interactive Software forecast second-quarter net bookings below Wall Street targets on Tuesday, in a sign that spending on games was under pressure amid persistent inflationary pressures.
While console sales, such as for Sony's PlayStation, rebounded on easing supply chain constraints, spending on items such as character skins within games has weakened due to tighter discretionary budgets.
Spending on videogame content was flat in the first half of the year, while console sales rose 23%, according to data from gaming research firm Circana.
Last fiscal, Take-Two incurred $79 million in costs relating to unreleased and canceled titles. It canceled "several titles" that were a part of its fiscal 2026 pipeline to focus on those games with "higher levels of conviction and expectations of success".
The videogame publisher forecast net bookings between $1.4 billion and $1.45 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.45 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Adjusted sales rose 20% to $1.20 billion in the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.21 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
(Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
