Rockstar Games is striving for “perfection” with the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, GTA VI, as it aims to for a polished launch.
During a recent interview with CNBC, Take-Two Interactive chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked about the thought process involved in determining the timing for the launch of GTA VI, creatively speaking, and whether the decision is ultimately a judgment or a logistics call.
In his response, Zelnick stated that there are elements that can be measured, such as the number of bugs and glitches. He said that the development team would naturally make sure there are as few bugs as possible before launch. However, in the case of an “extraordinary title for which there are extraordinary expectations”, he mentioned that it’s not really about bugs
According to the Take-Two Interactive CEO, GTA VI is about creating an experience that no one has seen before. He mentioned that Rockstar Games seeks “perfection” in what it does, and that this is difficult to measure. It’s more subjective than objective, he said.
Zelnick was also asked about his confidence in the recent narrowing of GTA VI’s release window from the company’s Fiscal Year 2025, which ends on March 31, 2025, to Fall 2025, which ends on December 21, 2025. In response, he mentioned that while there is slippage in the industry and that Take-Two Interactive isn’t immune to it, the timing of launch for GTA VI has been narrowed precisely because Rockstar Games is highly confident in achieving it.
The aforementioned narrowing of GTA VI’s launch window was recently announced by Zelnick in Take-Two Interactive’s fourth quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 report. He had stated that the company concluded Fiscal 2024 with strong fourth quarter results, including Net Bookings of $1.35 billion, which exceeded the high-end of its guidance range. Many of its key franchises outperformed, including NBA 2K24; Zynga’s in-app purchases, led by Toon Blast and its newest release, Match Factory!; the Red Dead Redemption series and the Grand Theft Auto series.
