{"id":1592400,"date":"2026-05-29T10:41:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2HrPHCxu3VTR8FKSQBJgF6"},"modified":"2026-05-29T10:41:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:41:24","slug":"take-two-ceo-says-former-rockstar-employees-have-tried-to-match-gtas-success-and-havent-been-able-to-and-while-he-doesnt-name-names-thats-gotta-sting-for-a-certain-someone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/take-two-ceo-says-former-rockstar-employees-have-tried-to-match-gtas-success-and-havent-been-able-to-and-while-he-doesnt-name-names-thats-gotta-sting-for-a-certain-someone\/","title":{"rendered":"Take-Two CEO says ‘former Rockstar employees’ have tried to match GTA’s success and ‘haven’t been able to’\u2014and while he doesn’t name names, that’s gotta sting for a certain someone"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive (which owns Rockstar, as well as several other companies) has a pretty middling view on AI<\/a>. He’s not purely against it<\/a> (of course not, he’s a CEO), but he’s at least been relatively realistic about not only its potential, but also what its adoption will mean for the company as a whole.<\/p>\n

Those are comments echoed in an investors meeting (shared here by YouTuber FunThere<\/a>) wherein Zelnick commented on a hypothetical put forward by another tech bigwig that AI would let a team of three people make a GTA. Zelnick takes issue with the idea that “therefore they will make a hit that’s as big as GTA, and there’s zero evidence for that.”<\/p>\n

He continues: “Making hits seems to get harder and harder and harder as entertainment industries mature, we do not have a monopoly on hit creation \u2026 Arrogance is the enemy of continued success. I don’t believe for a minute that technological advances give someone else an edge or give us an edge.<\/p>\n

“It’s just the toolset, it’s available to everyone. The key thing is that all of this is gonna be totally commoditised. Show me one AI company\u2014just one\u2014who’s offering their services or products to companies on an exclusive basis. They don’t exist. So when that executive has that button to push, I’ll have the same damn button.”<\/p>\n

Zelnick then gives certain studios the side-eye: “The folks at Rockstar seem to be able to make these massive hits, and lots of other people have tried. Lots and lots including former Rockstar employees\u2014and so far they haven’t been able to do it.”<\/p>\n

He doesn’t mention it by name, but it’s hard to imagine a higher-profile, recent example of what he’s talking about that isn’t MindsEye. Here we have a game put together by former Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies’ studio, which has spent the past few months trying to convince itself and the public that internal saboteurs are responsible<\/a> for the fact its first proper game isn’t good. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n