As far as video game companies go, Take-Two Interactive is in a stronger position than most. It's still publicly traded and has a strong stable of still relevant franchises, with Borderlands 4 setting series records and GTA 6 on the horizon. The company doesn't take such things for granted, says CEO Strauss Zelnick, as nobody's breaking out the champagne right now.
During a quarterly financials call, Zelnick was asked about being the "last publicly traded standalone publisher of scale standing," likely referencing how EA is now set to be bought out by a conglomerate which includes the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. "We're always running scared around here," he says.
"Arrogance is the enemy of continued success," he continues. "I do think we're in a terrific position. We're performing much better than expected economically, and that's because we're performing better than expected creatively, and that's always our story around here. If we can maintain that, then we have a wonderful future ahead of us."
He goes on to add that being independent and a public company "can be advantages in the right hands," but "none of that will lead us to success before we deliver it." Repeated returns is always the goal at Take-Two, rather than getting comfortable.
"Whenever we have good results, our approach around here is to take no victory lap," he states. "It's to get up the next day and try to do it again."
These comments are echoed in an interview with The Game Business, where Zelnick tackles Take-Two's status a little more directly after being asked about the impact he feels EA going private could have on his company. "No longer having a big direct competitor that's also a public company may give us a bit of room from a competitive point-of-view. On the other hand, we never take anything for granted," he tells the outlet.
"We wish our competitors well," he states. "A good business is well served by having powerful players, not just one powerful player. So, it's possible that the competitor landscape shifts a bit, it's also possible nothing changes at all. Either way, we have to do our job, which is to make the very best entertainment on Earth."
