Why Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick Won't Play Grand Theft Auto 6

Grand Theft Auto 6 is perhaps the most anticipated game of all time, to the point that even years of radio silence have done little to dim the lights of the rushing hype train. Really, anyone with a modern game console or PC will probably play it GTA 6 whenever it eventually starts. All except, it seems, Strauss Zelnick himself.

Zelnick is a respected businessman whose career highlights include serving as chairman of CBS and founding the private equity firm ZMC, but most gamers know him as the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, a position he has held since 2011. During that time, he oversaw the production and deployment Grand Theft Auto 5, Max Payne 3, and Red Dead Redemption 2alongside notable non-Rockstar games such as BioShock Infinite. In short, this man is no stranger to big game success, and regardless of one's personal opinion of him, it's clear that he brings key business experience that will hopefully facilitate a smooth process Grand Theft Auto 6 start. Whether GTA 6 it lands with a splash or a thud, but based on comments he's made in the past, it doesn't look like Mr. Zelnick is playing it himself.

Why Strauss Zelnick Won't Play Grand Theft Auto 6, According to Strauss Zelnick

Zelnick spoke to CNBC in May 2025, mostly about Grand Theft Auto 6 is pushing to the end of 2026 – something that could get an encore if it continues GTA 6 speculation about a delay is proving to be accurate. Zelnick expressed great confidence in the interview GTA 6's prospects despite the highly publicized delay, saying that “Rockstar Games strives to create the best entertainment anyone has ever seen, not just interactive entertainment.” Such a lofty statement would probably be written off as hyperbole in any other case if it weren't for Rockstar and GTA 6that sounds pretty accurate.

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In any case, Rockstar's “best thing anyone's ever seen” doesn't seem to have moved Strauss Zelnick too much on a personal level, as he later told CNBC that he hadn't actually played any of them. GTA 6although he probably has access to the ongoing build as the head of Take-Two. He clarified that he is “not a gamer” or the “chief consumer officer” of Take-Two Interactive. Naturally, this suggests that Zelnick isn't approaching his position with the mindset of a gamer, but rather of a CEO with an entertainment experience. He further compared his current role to his previous ones through this lens:

“I think being the chief consumer in the entertainment industry as a CEO is probably a mistake. I haven't been the chief consumer in the film, television or music business, although I can certainly read a script and I certainly love music… but that's not my role.”

Strauss Zelnick is not a player

Picking off CEOs is a favorite pastime of many gamers, understandably so: corporate greed has wreaked havoc on the gaming medium and industry as a whole, resulting in unfair studio closures, predatory monetization, cutbacks, and all manner of workplace misbehavior. Therefore, I imagine many video game fans will scoff at Zelnick's comments above, seeing them as further evidence of how “out of touch” this particular businessman is.

I can't say I blame anyone for jumping to that conclusion at first. After all, how can you judge the quality of a game if you don't enjoy the video games themselves? I won't pretend to speak as an authority on the matter, but I also think you can look at Zelnick's comments from a different, more optimistic angle.

Why it's a good thing Strauss Zelnick doesn't see Grand Theft Auto 6 as a 'consumer boss'

In most cases and especially when it comes to hugely expensive properties like Grand Theft Autonowadays we have to accept that the production of video games is partly controlled by the “money people” so to speak. There are the creatives—directors, animators, writers, etc.—and then there are the Strauss Zelnicks of the world, the ones who keep production and financing running smoothly. Perhaps a personal relationship with gaming may give these men some sort of advantage, but it may also make them more likely to interfere with the actual development of the project. Since someone like Strauss Zelnick has nothing to offer Rockstar creatively, it's good that he understands his role in this dynamic.

This is not meant to disparage Zelnick, who I think would agree with me. In the same CNBC interview, Zelnick said his job is to “attract, retain and motivate the best talent in the industry and [get] out of their way.” Rockstar Games has proven time and time again that they know how to make a good product, so “getting out of their way” is probably the best thing for someone in Zelnick's position to do. Zelnick seems to see himself as a lubricant rather than one of the gears, which I think is a good philosophy for a CEO.