Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick (the man in charge of GTA 6's parent company) isn't worried about other devs coming for Rockstar Games' crown with the help of technological advancements and generative AI. He reckons a potential GTA killer would be more likely to emerge from the brains of an "extraordinarily creative individual," but that hasn't happened yet, despite several attempts.
When asked about the sentiment that AI could lead to GTA-sized hits during the annual TD Cowen conference, Zelnick replied that there's basically "zero evidence" to support such theories. "Because we've had technology forever that would allow people to recreate what we do," he says. "People have tried. Anyone run into Assassin's Creed? I mean, people have tried to make titles that compete directly with GTA."
To Zelnick, the magic of the Grand Theft Auto series comes from Rockstar Games itself and the people who make up the studio - not the technology that the dev or its competitors use. "It's just the tool set. It's available to everyone," he says of AI. "And the folks at Rockstar seem to be able to make these massive hits and lots of other people have tried, lots and lots, including former Rockstar employees, and so far, they haven't been able to. It doesn't mean they can't in the future."
Most recently, former Rockstar North president and game producer Leslie Benzies came out with his own action-adventure game called Minseye, a game that crashed and burned almost as spectacularly as a GTA Online heist gone wrong. Meanwhile, Rockstar co-founder and long-time narrative lead Dan Houser is preparing a new "AAA story-driven open world video game" that'll hopefully fare better.
And Zelnick is fully aware that outside devs, ones that have worked on GTA included, are capable of making games that could one day stand up to the open-world king. "We do not have a monopoly in hit creation... arrogance is the enemy of continued success," he goes on. "We're always running scared." It's just that the company won't be running scared because of new tech that others have access to.
"That won't be the change. What will change is that some extraordinarily creative individual or individuals are going to show up and do something astonishing. Our goal is to get those people to work within the Take-Two system. If we fail to do that, we fail. If we continue to be the home of creativity, the company that welcomes and encourages and supports and finances the best talent in the business, then the rest will take care of itself. And technology is in service of those goals, not at odds with them."
The Take-Two boss previously gave his thoughts on AI last year when he explained how GTA 6's "creative genius is human." Outside of the talented folks who work at Rockstar Games, the company does have the advantage of (seemingly) unlimited time and money that other devs dream of, but it's nice to hear that an executive as influential as Zelnick has respect for the real humans behind the upcoming game.
