Take-Two CEO admits GTA 6 expectations are 'so high' it's 'terrifying' — 'I think here our goal is to deliver to consumers something that’s never been experienced before'

Grand Theft Auto 6 NPCs with tattoos posed with baseball bats
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

  • Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick admits he is terrified of the high expectations for GTA 6
  • This comes after analysts forecast the game could sell upwards of 25 million copies on day one
  • Zelnick says, "At a lower level, that's true of Take-Two's entire business plan on the console side"

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has admitted that the expectations for Grand Theft Auto 6 have him terrified, even as industry analysts expect the game to sell exceedingly well.

GTA 6 is possibly the most anticipated game of all time, and following the continued success of Rockstar Games' big hits, GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, along with two delays, there is huge pressure to deliver to the fans.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg at the Interactive Innovation Conference in Las Vegas last week, Strauss Zelnick still aims to deliver the best experience possible to players.

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"I think here our goal is to deliver to consumers something that’s never been experienced before," the CEO said. "Being on the sidelines but pretty close to the front of the sidelines is very, very exciting. And terrifying. Because the expectations are so high."

GTA 6 is scheduled to launch on November 19, and industry analysts have previously predicted that the game could sell upwards of 25 million copies on day one and generate $7.6 billion in revenue in the first 60 Days of its launch.

It's also suggested that 10 million units would be a disaster for Take-Two, considering GTA 6 is one of the most expensive games ever made.

"At a lower level, that's true of Take-Two's entire business plan on the console side," Zelnick said. "Development costs have gone up and up. And we really do aim to deliver the highest quality entertainment on Earth. And that is costly. And AI influence is not withstanding. We haven't seen those costs decline yet. Maybe we will. Maybe we won't.”

In the same interview, Zelnick more or less confirmed that GTA 6 won't be coming to PC at launch, explaining that "Rockstar always starts on console because I think with regard to a release like that you're judged by serving the core" audience.


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Demi Williams
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Demi is a freelance games journalist who helps cover gaming news at TechRadar. She's been a games writer for five years and has written for outlets such as GameSpot, NME, and GamesRadar, covering news, features, and reviews. Outside of writing, she plays a lot of RPGs and talks far too much about Star Wars on X.

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