Strauss Zelnick wastes no time with cautious words. The CEO of Take-Two Interactive – in office for 19 years, with 35 years of experience leading companies – recently spoke at the iicon convention, delivering his positions on topics as hot as GTA 6, artificial intelligence, or rivalry with platforms like Roblox. A portrait of a leader who sets the bar high.
For GTA 6, don’t expect many revelations. Zelnick refuses to disclose anything that could disrupt the stock market or the marketing plan. He simply confirms that a broad and ambitious marketing campaign is planned, very different from that of GTA 5 in 2013. “Thirteen years ago, we were still buying advertising on national television channels. This will no longer be the case.” The positioning will clearly be aimed at channels where audience attention is focused today. Not surprising for a title that could become, according to several analysts, one of the most significant cultural launches in entertainment history.
AI and jobs: Zelnick against big tech misinformation
It is on artificial intelligence that Zelnick is most trenchant – and most direct. He prefers to talk about “technology” rather than AI, considering the term too polysemous. His thesis is clear – technology does not eliminate jobs, it amplifies human creative capacity. “Technology doesn’t create. It enables humans to create.”
He goes further by directly targeting big tech companies that have laid off thousands of employees citing AI. For him, this discourse is false: these companies simply hired excessively during the pandemic, without ever addressing their salary mass problem. Take-Two is currently driving several hundred internal projects related to technology, but none are deemed “existential”. The priority remains creativity.
| Subject | Zelnick’s Position |
|---|---|
| AI and jobs | No job cuts, contrary to big tech’s speeches |
| Roblox | Different model, mutual respect, no direct competition |
| Mobile | ~50% of Take-Two’s revenue, thanks to Zynga |
| GTA 6 | Major marketing campaign, no details on content |
Roblox? Respect, but no overlap. Zelnick acknowledges the success of the platform but maintains a clear demarcation line: “Roblox is not in the same business as us.” Take-Two produces interactive entertainment; Roblox hosts that of others. There are other resources available to enhance your experience on Roblox.
Zelnick’s ultimate ambition deserves attention: to make Take-Two the largest entertainment company in the world. He cites Netflix – a leader in pure entertainment with only movies and series – as an achievable reference. The pillars to achieve this are:
- Maintaining a stable senior team (attrition rate twice as low as the sector average)
- Embracing failure as an integral part of creative strategy
- Balancing big productions (GTA, Mafia) with projects like Ken Levine’s Judas
- Developing between 3 and 6 new mobile releases per year, with Zynga
“Maybe it’s beyond our reach – but we’re going to try very hard.” Frankly, it’s exactly this kind of self-assured lucidity that distinguishes real builders from mere communicators.
