- Take-Two CEO dismisses concerns raised by a journalist about not having enough hits beyond GTA 6.
- Strauss goes on to list franchises across multiple genres and completely dismantles the argument.
- He argues the company boasts incredibly lucrative IPs, with 15 selling at least 5 million copies each.
The upcoming GTA 6 launch has become all the hype, with pre-order sales allegedly hitting 7.7 million copies and $750 million in revenue. Take-Two is also anticipating the world’s greatest media hit on its hands, with day-one sales expected to climb over 20 million.
The company’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, took part in an interview today to discuss the game’s launch. However, he was caught off guard after the journalist raised alleged ‘concerns’ about Take-Two lacking enough successful IPs as it waits for the ‘big hit’ to release.
Why it matters: While the journalist merely raised ‘concerns,’ the question still seems baffling when asked of arguably the most successful video game business in the world. Take-Two has built lucrative, popular franchises across multiple genres and platforms over the decades.
In an interview with the WSJ, Strauss Zelnick addressed the controversial question by asking the journalist to examine the facts and simply listing multiple multi-million dollar gaming franchises across different platforms and genres.
He adds that Take-Two boasts 15 franchises that have each sold at least 5 million copies over the years. He also adds that Take-Two arguably holds the best collection of gaming IPs in the industry, as reflected in its top line, bottom line, and the market cap.
Well, look, we have 15 franchises that have each sold at least 5 million units in an individual release. I think we have the best collection of owned intellectual property in the video game business.
-Take-Two CEO, Strauss Zelnick.
Strauss Zelnick names multiple franchises besides GTA that have sold tens of millions of copies each. He adds that RDR2 has sold over 65 million units alone, while NBA 2K is recognized as the second biggest sports franchise worldwide with over 167 million units sold.
Then there’s WWE 2K, BioShock, Borderlands, and Civilization, and the list goes on. He also brings up multiple highly successful mobile franchises to further squash these concerns.
The controversial question drew a lot of backlash online, as critics brought up multiple successful IPs and questioned a lack of research on the journalist’s part.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devotedly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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