'It's Not Going to Be Delayed Again' — Strauss Zelnick on GTA 6 Expectations, GTA Online, and the Next 10 Years
By Google News Technology ·
10 days out from the release of GTA 6, Strauss Zelnick tells me he’s feeling “optimistic.” It might be the understatement of the century. Reporting its second quarter fiscal year 2027 results tonight, Take-Two said preorders for Rockstar’s next game are tracking “far in excess” of the company’s initial expectations. “We know that the numbers will speak for themselves soon enough,” the Rockstar parent company added.
Or, as Zelnick put it to me during 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. There are concerns it might not just crash the PlayStation Store, but jam up the internet, given so many millions across the world are expected to download the whopping 212GB that make up Rockstar’s surefire hit.
Still, GTA 6, like all video games these days, is beset by threats from all sides. The recent explosion in AI-fueled game clones and PS5 jailbreaks has raised the chances of GTA 6 turning up on PC before Rockstar has had a chance to release it officially. But what can Take-Two do about it?
Meanwhile, all eyes are on Rockstar to see what happens after GTA 6 comes out, after its developers recently insisted its next game won’t take another eight years to make. Yes, it really has been eight years since Red Dead Redemption 2 came out.
In the interview below, we touch on all these topics and more, joke about yet another potential GTA 6 delay, and learn that GTA 6 is so popular it might have even caused sales of Take-Two’s own NBA 2K27 to miss expectations.
IGN: Finally, after a decade of development, delays, ups and downs, GTA 6 is coming out. I'm just wondering, Strauss, how does it feel right now?
Strauss Zelnick: Optimistic. I'm looking forward to the launch.
IGN: Normally I'd ask you if you if there was a risk of GTA 6 being delayed. I've had conversations with you in the past that I'm guessing you can be pretty confident this time it's not going to be delayed again.
Strauss Zelnick: It’s not going to be delayed again.
IGN: There's a line in the financials about Rockstar continuing to support GTA Online with new content and ongoing events for its vast community. I'm just curious what impact you forecast GTA 6 having on GTA Online when the game comes out? What are your expectations about GTA Online from next week onwards?
Strauss Zelnick: We intend to keep supporting GTA Online and it has been very successful. It's been very resilient. It has continued to grow over the years, so we feel very good about it.
IGN: There's another line about preorders for GTA 6 tracking far in excess of your expectations, and you say the numbers will speak for themselves soon enough. Do you make any preparations to try and ensure a smooth launch for your customers? Is GTA 6 so big you might actually crash the internet? Do you do anything around that to try and prevent any problems there?
Strauss Zelnick: We are very focused on that and we intend to do the very best we can to have a smooth delivery experience for all of our customers.
Hannah Sage (EVP, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer): And the preload starts tomorrow in an effort to minimize that impact.
IGN: There was a very interesting recent interview of senior Rockstar developers in Bloomberg. They said the foundation was laid for faster development following GTA 6. I was wondering what your expectation is now with Rockstar? Do…
Originally published by Google News Technology
