Take Two Targets Faster Game Cycles as Rockstar Reworks Tech

Take-Two Interactive held its quarterly earnings call this week, and it had more to talk about than usual. Strauss Zelnick, the CEO, is good at answering questions without giving much away. Still, between his interviews beforehand and the Q&A on the call, some useful details came out about GTA 6 and the studio behind it.

The main point is that GTA 6 is not being delayed again. It launches on November 19, and you can preload it now. Zelnick said preorders are running well ahead of what the company expected. Even so, Take-Two kept its forecast of $8 billion to $8.2 billion for the year, since the company avoids claiming success before a launch happens.

Zelnick promised ongoing GTA Online support but dodged how early GTA 6 players stay engaged.

They clearly have the preorder numbers and just aren't sharing them yet. Analyst estimates sit closer to $8.6 billion, which would be $400 million above the top of that range. On GTA Online, Zelnick said Rockstar intends to keep supporting it, calling it successful, resilient, and still growing.

A caller asked how the company plans to keep early GTA 6 players engaged after the Vice City story, and whether they'd move to GTA Online. Zelnick didn't answer directly. He said there is always more to do in Grand Theft Auto, so he has never had to explain what players do once they finish, and he expects the same for GTA 6.

That answer fits GTA 6, which has side missions, hunting and legendary animals alongside a story of 50 hours or more. Eventually players will want something new, though, and Rockstar isn't saying what that is. The closest hint came from Twitch's CEO, who suggested in an interview that the platform will see a big surge in 2027 tied to a GTA Online release.

Nothing is confirmed, and the only advice on offer was to keep playing. The call also touched on NoPixel. Rockstar bought Cfx.re, the team behind FiveM, a year or two ago, and the NoPixel server is one of the best-known places for GTA roleplay.

Take-Two also backs the NoPixel roleplay community, which hundreds of thousands enjoy.

Take-Two said it is excited about NoPixel 5 and that hundreds of thousands of people enjoy GTA Online this way. Whenever the community wants to engage with its intellectual property, Take-Two wants to support that where it can.

The reveal crashed a streaming service and a gaming website. Asked about a smooth launch for GTA 6, the company said it is focused on it and will do its best to deliver a smooth experience to every customer. The most interesting part was about development speed.

A senior developer at Rockstar told a business outlet last month that the studio is laying the groundwork for faster development after GTA 6. Asked about it, the CEO said the pace and nature of content from its franchises, GTA included, will look dramatically different over the next decade.

He also told another publication the next game won't take eight years, and Red Dead Redemption 2 arrived eight years ago. That points to a Bully 2, Red Dead Redemption 3, a new Max Payne, or GTA 7 arriving sooner than that.

Beyond Rockstar, NBA 2K27 came in under projections while Borderlands stays strong.

NBA 2K27 came in under projections despite being the second-best launch in the series, and the CEO said the crowded timing and GTA 6 may have played a part, adding that if someone's lunch is getting eaten, he'd rather be the one eating. Borderlands also got a mention.

With Borderlands 4 at 100 million copies sold, the CEO said the future is bright for Borderlands, calling it a big-hit franchise with plenty more to come, with Gearbox highly optimistic. There was no new detail on GTA 6 itself, and the question that tried to get at it didn't land. Still, a faster release pace from the studio is great news. Preload GTA 6 now.