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Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive has said in a recent interview that the Grand Theft Auto VI delay is minimal, with less than a six month delay. He also reiterates that he doesn’t play video games at all.
In a recent interview on Squawk Box, Strauss Zelnick was brought on by CNBC to discuss the latest quarterly earnings for Take-Two, the recent Grand Theft Auto VI delay and more.
Grand Theft Auto VI delay minimal
Strauss Zelnick said to the CNBC hosts that the Grand Theft Auto VI delay is a very short delay and is a delay of less than Six Months, GTA 6 was originally scheduled to release in Fall 2025. From Strauss’s comments on CNBC, we now know the game was set to release at the very end of fall 2025, between November 26th – December 21st 2025.
Strauss also said once they announce an exact release date, they generally hit that release date. Grand Theft Auto VI was recently given an exact release date of May 26th 2026.
One of the CNBC hosts, Andrew Sorkin, asked Strauss how much all the gaming companies was thinking about the GTA 6 release date due to the ecosystem in which Strauss told the hosts that all gaming companies look at each others release schedules to make sure they dont stack up releases withy each other.
Strauss also explained to the hosts that the GTA 6 delay is a reflection of desire by Take-Two & Rockstar Games to polish and create the best possible experience for the consumers, then adding on that as a company they are known not to have ‘Slavish Devotion’ to release date and instead to seek the highest quality entertainment. Then he highlights this work model supports their success.
Strauss Zelnick went on to talk about Rockstar Games, saying ‘Rockstar Games are trying to create the best thing anyone has ever seen in entertainment, and not just in interactive entertainment.’
He went on to say that consumers have high hopes for GTA 6 and elaborated with saying that Trailer 2 was viewed 475 Million times within 24 hours being an all time record, then snuck in the fact that the originally record that they beat was their own record (GTA 6 Trailer 1).
Strauss not a gamer & what his role is
The CNBC hosts asked Strauss if he has played Grand Theft Auto 6 yet and whether the game was done. Strauss then said that he is not a gamer, and that not only does he not p[lay videogames a little bit, but that he doesn’t play them at all. Strauss has never hidden the fact he doesnt play videogames.
When asked whether he offers notes when Rockstar show him the game, he said he shares his opinion openly but his role is not the Consumer In Chief and that ever trying to be a consumer In Chief as CEO in the entertainment industry is a mistake. Then he says, he has never been a Consumer In Chief when he was in the movie or Television business or music business even though he loves music.
Zelnick said his role is to ‘attract, retain and motivate the best talent in the business and then get out of their way.’ Perfect response from a CEO.
You can watch the full interview here, in which they speak about Mobile gaming, AI and more.
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1 Comment
Nice response as a CEO. Saw the title and surprised he said that but then read his response and I couldn’t agree more.