The president of GTA 5 and Borderlands' parent company Take-Two Interactive says that "diversity is key" to his company's success, in response to questions relating to the ongoing Activision Blizzard lawsuit.
Speaking during Take-Two Interactive's recent quarterly earnings call, Strauss Zelnick was asked for his thoughts "regarding the recent developments within the industry on gender and equality." In response, Zelnick said that "our most important assets here [are] our people because they create everything that we're able to bring to consumers."
"And our strategy, our stated strategy has always been to be the most creative, the most innovative, and the most efficient company in the business. Diversity is key to our success. We need to have a diverse perspective and diverse voices in order to create that quality. So it starts at the top. Our Board of Directors is diverse with respect to gender, race and skill set. Our management team is exceedingly diverse from a gender perspective. And our voices, as a result, are diverse."
Later, asked whether issues at competitors had encouraged Take-Two to rethink its policies and procedures, Zelnick said that "inclusion, diversity, and common decency is of paramount importance to everyone here." He also claims that while the company can "always do better," it "will not tolerate harassment or discrimination or bad behavior of any kind [...] We set those expectations when people come on board here through our code of conduct and our anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies."
Zelnick's comments come after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing issued a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, alleging a "frat boy" culture at the company amid accusations of "constant sexual harassment" of female employees.
We don't know much about GTA 6, but we also might not get to play it until 2025.
