10 days before the release of GTA 6, Strauss Zelnick tells me that he feels “optimistic”. This is perhaps the understatement of the century. Releasing its second-quarter fiscal 2027 results this evening, Take-Two said pre-orders for Rockstar’s next game were “well above” the company’s initial expectations. “We know the numbers will speak for themselves soon enough,” parent company Rockstar added.
Or, as Zelnick told me in a phone interview: “I’m looking forward to the launch.”
GTA 6 is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time, surpassing any movie or video game before it in terms of sales and money made. Some fear that this will not just crash the PlayStation Store, but also block the Internet, given that millions of people around the world are expected to download the massive 212GB that is Rockstar’s surefire hit.
However, GTA 6, like all video games these days, is beset by threats from all sides. The recent explosion of AI-powered game clones and PS5 jailbreaks has increased the chances that GTA 6 will appear on PC before Rockstar has a chance to officially release it. But what can Take-Two do about it?
Meanwhile, all eyes are on Rockstar to see what happens after GTA 6’s release, after its developers recently insisted its next game wouldn’t take another eight years. Yes, it really has been eight years since Red Dead Redemption 2 was released.
In the interview below, we cover all these topics and more, joke about another potential GTA 6 delay, and learn that GTA 6 is so popular that it might even have caused sales of Take-Two’s NBA 2K27 to miss expectations.
IGN: Finally, after a decade of development, delays, ups and downs, GTA 6 is released. I’m just wondering, Strauss, how are you feeling right now?
Strauss Zelnick: Optimistic. I’m looking forward to the launch.
IGN: Normally I would ask you if there was a risk that GTA 6 would be delayed. I have had conversations with you in the past and I imagine you can be sure that this time it will not be delayed again.
Strauss Zelnick: This will no longer be delayed.
IGN: There’s a line in the financials that Rockstar continues to support GTA Online with new content and ongoing events for its vast community. I’m just curious what impact you anticipate GTA 6 will have on GTA Online when the game releases? What are your expectations for GTA Online starting next week?
Strauss Zelnick: We intend to continue supporting GTA Online and it has been a great success. He was very resilient. It has continued to grow over the years, so we feel great about it.
IGN: There’s another line about GTA 6 pre-orders vastly exceeding your expectations, and you say the numbers will speak for themselves soon enough. Are you making any preparations to try to ensure a smooth launch for your customers? Is GTA 6 so big you could actually crash the internet? Are you doing anything to try to avoid any problems there?
Strauss Zelnick: We are very focused on it and we intend to do our best to provide a smooth delivery experience to all our customers.
Hannah Sage (Executive VP, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer): And preloading begins tomorrow in an effort to minimize this impact.
IGN: There was a very interesting interview with senior Rockstar developers in Bloomberg recently. They said the foundation was laid for faster development after GTA 6. I was wondering what your expectations are now with Rockstar? Do you think Rockstar will be able to release more games faster than before? Are you going to continue to treat Rockstar like you did with GTA 6, with the budget and giving them the time needed to make the game that way? What do you think?
Strauss Zelnick: I will certainly continue to support all of our labels in their quest to create the best entertainment experiences in the world. And each of our three labels has its own tailored strategy and approach and I support it.
We believe the nature and speed of the content we see across our iconic franchises, including GTA, will be dramatically different over the next decade. And that’s really driven by our industry-leading commitment to delivering the highest quality entertainment, reaching our players in new ways and in new places and trying to maintain engagement with our consumers post-launch.
IGN: We’ve seen hackers use AI to clone games much faster than ever before, and even try to jailbreak consoles. And that raises some concerns, which could lead to GTA 6 being available unofficially on PC or in places where you don’t release it. I was just wondering how much of a threat this poses to your business? And is there anything meaningful you can do about it?
Strauss Zelnick: I don’t think it’s a financial issue, in terms of the threat to our business. I think it’s a question of creativity. It’s important for everyone, our developers and our consumers, to deliver the experience Rockstar envisions. And at the same time, of course, we vigilantly protect our intellectual property. So we focus on these concerns. We are not at all cavalier about them. Technology is advancing rapidly. And at the same time, I think almost everyone wants the Rockstar experience the way Rockstar intended.
IGN: On a related note, last week, Anthropic confirmed that it had taken steps to prevent Claude from reverse engineering video games. I suppose you would be happy with that. And would you like to see other AI companies like OpenAI do the same thing to prevent people from using these powerful AI models to clone your games?
Strauss Zelnick: I think all businesses should protect their intellectual property, their own and that of others. And if you’re in the intellectual property business, like Anthropic and OpenAI, then it seems ironic on the one hand to trample on someone else’s intellectual property and hope that yours is protected.
IGN: Your financial data mentions that NBA 2K27 is lower than your forecasts. What do you attribute this to and how do you improve things?
Strauss Zelnick: I think the key point is that, although below our predictions, NBA 2K27 is our second best version of NBA 2K in history. It’s an extremely successful title. It has sold 4 million units. And by releasing more content than ever before for the rest of the year, we hope the title does even better than it already has.
I think this timing may have affected performance so far. It’s been a busy time and we believe the arrival of GTA 6 has had an influence on the consumer. That said, we’re pleased with how NBA 2K27 performed.
IGN: There’s also a line on Borderlands 4. It’s now sold over 100 million units franchise-wise. Congratulations on that. But there is a line about what lies ahead for this series. Do you think Borderlands can significantly increase its audience and improve commercially? And if so, from your point of view, how can this be achieved?
Strauss Zelnick: The answer is yes. It’s already a successful franchise and I think there are many more to come. I think if you ask the team at Gearbox, they’re very optimistic that there’s still a lot to do and I believe there’s still a lot to do. I’m very excited about all things Borderlands.
Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images.
Wesley is the editor-in-chief of IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Gn tech
