In a new interview on CNBC, the CEO of Grand Theft Auto 6 publisher Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick, explains how much anticipation there is for the upcoming game and why it's taken so long.
"What Rockstar Games puts into all of their titles is a desire for creative perfection, which is why it takes a long time, and why it's complex, and of course nervous-making," Zelnick says.
It's been almost 12 years since GTA 5 launched, and we've all joked about how much has come out before we've gotten GTA 6, but the kind of attention to detail put into Rockstar's games does take time. Even the electrical grid in GTA 5 is fairly realistic.
GTA 5 did phenomenally well, and GTA Online continues to rake in cash for Rockstar, but Zelnick isn't counting his chickens. "We don't claim success until it occurs," he says. "You're right, GTA 5 has been the standard-bearer not just for our company but for the industry over three generations. It's now sold over 210 million units, which is extraordinary. GTA 6 – there's enormous anticipation both inside our company and in the marketplace as a whole. We couldn't be more excited."
Take-Two CEO, Strauss Zelnick talks about GTA 6 in a new interview:- Rockstar takes long because they desire creative perfection- GTA 6 is highly anticipated internally & externally by the whole industry- AI has been used since the beginning but the creative genius is human pic.twitter.com/eJTeaQdyuQFebruary 15, 2025
While Take-Two is excited, the rest of the industry is anxiously awaiting the announcement of GTA 6's launch date. It's been reported that other publishers are trying to avoid releasing their games at a similar time. Some have speculated it won't come out in September as that's when Borderlands 4 comes out, which is also being published by Take-Two, but Blizzard's former boss says "Rockstar is controlled by no one, including their publisher."
Zelnick also dodges a question about how much AI was used to make GTA 6, saying that while "we've been using digital tools since the very beginning [...] it's worth noting that the genius is human. The tools may be digital, but the creative genius is human." So, no direct word on if or how much AI was used.
While you wait for GTA 6, check out our ranking of the best GTA games you can play right now.
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The years-long GTA 6 debate over what happens to GTA Online has been addressed by Take-Two's CEO: "We've shown a willingness to support legacy titles when a community wants to be engaged with them"
