GTA, RDR and Civilization Brands Won't Last Forever, Says Take-Two's CEO. „It's a Feature of Physics and Human Life and Everything That Exists on Earth”
Take-Two's CEO believes that new things should be tried, even though old brands are a safer choice.
While Take-Two owns some incredibly big franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and Civilization, its CEO, Strauss Zelnick, believes that they won't last forever. The CEO envisions a future in which they will no longer be the giants they are today.
Philosophical seeings of Take-Two's CEO
During a call with investors last week, Zelnick was asked if consumers were open to new things, not just familiar IPs. In response, we heard almost philosophical considerations.
We know that if we put out a sequel, it's a lower-risk proposition than new intellectual property. But everything degrades. And even though most of our franchise sequels tend to do better than the prior release—and we're really proud of that because that's not standard for the industry—the truth is there is this thing called decay and entropy. It's a feature of physics and human life and everything that exists on earth.
Zelnick believes you should always try new things, because otherwise "it won't end well." However, he admitted that developing another brand isn't a simple matter. On the other hand, everyone has taken that risk at some point and thanks to that, they are where they are.
If we had not been willing to create new intellectual property when we showed up here 18 years ago when the risk profile of this enterprise was vastly greater than it is today, well, then none of us would be sitting here today and you wouldn't be listening to this call. That's just the fact.
Interestingly, on the same day, Zelnick also announced the sale of Private Division – a publishing house created precisely to support the development of independent titles.
When it comes to new IPs that Take-Two is preparing, it's worth mentioning the game Judas, developed by the Ghost Story Games studio headed by Ken Levin. It must be admitted, however, that in this case, the mentioned risk is to some extent mitigated by the reputation of BioShock's creator. Especially since in the promotional materials the game strongly resembles this iconic shooter series.
