“There is inherent tension, potentially, between getting something to market and creating perfection, but this company errs on the side of perfection,” says Two-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is officially set to launch sometime in 2025, which means we’re still a ways off from getting our hands on it yet, but given the magnitude of the release and just how long the wait for it has been, there’s no shortage of anxious fans who’re wondering when exactly in 2025 the game will launch. And for now, Take-Two Interactive – the parent company of GTA developer Rockstar Games – has no concrete answer to that question.
Speaking during the company’s recent quarterly earnings call, when asked about how Two-Two Interactive goes about deciding when a tentpole release like Grand Theft Auto 6 will release, CEO Strauss Zelnick said that above all else, what Rockstar Games is aiming for is “perfection”, and though there is “inherent tension” between wanting to make a great game and wanting to get it out on sale, Rockstar tends to lean towards the latter.
“We’re seeking perfection, and when we feel we’ve optimized creatively, that’s the time to release,” Zelnick said (via Wccftech). “And we’re all in this together. In terms of motivations and incentives, the financial incentives of everyone who works at this company are aligned with those of the shareholders.”
He added: “There’s inherent tension – potentially – between getting something to market and creating perfection, but this company errs on the side of perfection.”
Zelnick also touched on the anticipation surrounding Grand Theft Auto 6’s release, and what Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar’s expectations are for how that will translate to sales. He said that though anticipation for GTA 6 certainly seems much higher than it was for GTA 5, given the latter’s tremendous sales – having sold over 195 million units worldwide – Take-Two is stopping “well short of making predictions” about how GTA 6 will sell.
“Our sense is that the anticipation [for GTA 6] is much higher – much, much higher,” he said (via GamesRadar). “On the other hand, you know, 195 million units [of GTA 5 sold] to date is nothing to sneeze at. We stop well short of making predictions about how the title will do, but clearly anticipation is running very, very high.”
Predicting how Grand Theft Auto 6 will sell in comparison to its predecessor may very well be a fool’s errand, but there’s certainly no doubt that anticipation surrounding it is higher than it ever was for any past instalment in the series- not just because it’s a new GTA game, but also because it’s been so long since the last one came out.
For instance, Grand Theft Auto 6’s reveal trailer had more views on YouTube in its first day than GTA 5’s debut trailer had in 12 years. In December, the trailer had gone on to surpass 150 million views, and at the time of writing, it sits at 174 million views.
Whenever Grand Theft Auto 6, it will be available for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with no word yet on when a PC version will arrive.
