GTA 6 Boss Talks The Game’s Budget And Calls Out A “High-Profile” Game For Releasing In A Rough State
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has addressed speculation surrounding Grand Theft Auto 6’s development budget in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal. While declining to confirm reports of a $1.5 billion budget, Zelnick acknowledged that the game was “expensive and it took a long time” to develop, having undergone multiple delays during its extended production cycle.
Zelnick emphasized that Take-Two’s development philosophy prioritizes creative innovation and excellence, even when this approach proves costly. He outlined the company’s guiding principles as seeking excellence across all endeavors, maintaining strong teamwork, and fostering kindness within the organization. “Our strategy is to be the most creative, the most innovative, and the most efficient,” Zelnick stated, noting that this cultural approach “sometimes is, in fact, really expensive.”
On the topic of piracy concerns ahead of GTA 6’s release, Zelnick expressed minimal worry despite acknowledging he is “worried about everything all the time.” Drawing from his experience across multiple entertainment industries, he characterized piracy as inevitable. Zelnick cited historical piracy rates, noting that the film industry typically experiences 10-20% piracy while the music industry saw rates as high as 80% during the mid-2000s, though current rates have since declined.
The comments come as GTA 6 anticipation builds, with more gameplay footage having leaked publicly than Rockstar initially intended to reveal at this stage of promotion.