With GTA 6 right around the corner, Rockstar Games and its owner Take-Two Interactive will be getting ready to enjoy the fruits of their labor with a massive launch, especially if current pre-order estimates are anything to go by. But GTA isn't Take-Two's only breadwinner – CEO Strauss Zelnick reckons that "we have the best collection" of IP in the games business.
Speaking in a new interview with the Wall Street Journal (below), Zelnick defends the strength of Take-Two's full library, which may be boosted by GTA, but by no means relies on it entirely.
"We have 15 franchises that have each sold at least 5 million units in an individual release," he begins. "I think we have the best collection of owned intellectual property in the video game business, and I think that's reflected in our top line, our bottom line, and our market cap."
He continues: "In addition to Grand Theft Auto, we have Red Dead Redemption, a massive title. It sold over 65 million units in the most recent release. Red Dead Online, Grand Theft Auto Online, we have NBA 2K, which is the second-biggest sports title worldwide – the biggest in North America."
In a quickfire round, Zelnick also lists the likes of Borderlands, BioShock, WWE 2K, and Civilization, as well as mobile hits such as Words with Friends and Empires & Puzzles.
Depending on your personal preferences and biases, you may or may not agree with Zelnick that Take-Two truly has the best bank of IP – others like Nintendo could certainly give the company a run for its money with the likes of Mario, Zelda, and Smash Bros., not to mention its partial ownership of Pokemon. But there's definitely no denying its strength – even with the current highest-rated game of the year, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, out today, it's hard to think of November as anything other than Rockstar's month.
