Take-Two boss has zero interest in playing GTA 6: 'I'm not a gamer'
GTA 6 might be the most anticipated game on the planet, but one of the few people who has access to Rockstar's sequel is simply not bothered about playing it.
Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Rockstar's parent company, made an appearance on CNBC to discuss the company's financial results for Q4 2025 and GTA 6, which has been pushed back to May 26, 2026.
Zelnick described the delay as being from a 'desire to polish and create the best experience for consumers', but things took a personal turn when he was asked if he had played the game in question.
'I'm not a gamer,' Zelnick said, avoiding the question. 'I don't play video games [at all]. I'm not the consumer-in-chief.'
When asked if he gives Rockstar notes when he's shown the game, Zelnick replied: 'I share my opinions pretty openly. I think being the consumer-in-chief in the entertainment business as the CEO is probably a mistake.'
Zelnick, who previously worked for Columbia Pictures Television and 20th Century Fox, explained how he's never been actively involved in any creative work during his career – even in the TV and music business, despite calling himself a 'musician'.
'That's not my role,' he added. 'My role is to attract, retain, and motivate the best talent in the business, and then get out of their way.'
While he's certainly not the first CEO of a games company who doesn't actually play games, it's odd that he doesn't appear to have any curiosity about playing GTA 6. More Trending
Still, he's not shy about making some bold claims about the sequel. When addressing the reason behind the game's delay, Zelnick said: 'Rockstar is trying to create the best thing anyone has ever seen in entertainment, not just interactive entertainment. That's a tall order. And I think consumers have huge hopes for the title.'
Last week, Zelnick described the delay as necessary to allow Rockstar to fulfil its 'creative vision' for GTA 6 'with no limitations'.
Along with GTA 6, Rockstar is rumoured to be working on a Red Dead Redemption 2 port for Switch 2, and a remaster of GTA 4.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
MORE: Stalker Legends Of The Zone Trilogy Enhanced Edition review – Chornobyl horrors
MORE: People shouldn't complain about £80 games says ex-PlayStation boss
MORE: Marathon delay predicted as concerns mount over the future of Bungie
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
The Nintendo Direct Indie World was another dud – except for the last 30 seconds
Two of the best games of 2024 are coming to Switch, and one of them is out today, but the latest Nintendo Direct barely mentioned them. Thanks to Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, the Nintendo Switch 2 now has two of the highest rated video games of the year under its belt. But its future, both immediate and long term, remains unclear. Not necessarily in the sense that there's anything to worry about, but purely because Nintendo is saying so little about what comes next. We still don't have firm release dates for Metroid Prime 4, Kirby Air Riders, or Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Imprisonment, and no clue at all as to what's out next year. On top of that, the third party focused Nintendo Direct from last month was a surprisingly uninspiring affair, with rumours suggesting several games were cut from its line-up at the last minute. Only a week later and today had another new Nintendo Direct, this one an Indie World variant focusing on, you guessed it, indie games. Sadly, it was only 15 minutes long and seemed to have even less reason for existing than last week's, except for two exciting announcements buried in a brief montage at the end. Since it is so short, we advise watching the whole thing, as we're sure some, if not most, of these games will turn out very well. Mina The Hollower by the makers of Shovel Knight will almost certainly be worth the long wait for it to appear, although there's not long to go now as its release date was announced as October 31. The game's a top-down action adventure that looks like a long lost Game Boy Color game, if a Game Boy Color Pro was a thing that actually existed. Animal herding game Herdling had some impressive 3D visuals and while Neverway's near monochromatic graphics may put off more people than it attracts the idea of battling to become an immortal herald for a Lovecraftian god is certainly an unusual set-up. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Herdling is out on August 21 but Neverway and a number of the other titles aren't out till 2026 or a purposefully ambiguous 'winter', so there was even less to look forward to in the short term. Puzzle game Is This Seat Taken? was the only shadow drop to get the spotlight, while a free update for Little Kitty, Big City was only promised for sometime later this year. Auto-scrolling roguelike Ball X Pit looked interesting though, and you could definitely see the influences from Vampire Survivors, which the developer openly admitted to. It's out on October 15 on the original Switch but, interestingly, not until 'autumn' on Switch 2 – hinting at the fact that many indie developers have had trouble getting hold of Switch 2 devkits to make their games on. Most of these games will be multiformat, and almost all of them will be on at least PC, although Glaciered was described as a timed Switch exclusive. It looked to be an impressively complex action role-playing game, with an unusual underwater setting. It's down for 'winter 2025', which technically should only mean December. That was the closest the Direct came to having a mic drop moment and yet it hid what was, for us, the most exciting news of the day, in a brief montage right at the end. In amongst new titles like Winter Burrow and Strange Antiquities was confirmation that two of the best games of 2024 are now coming to Switch. More Trending UFO 50 is an amazing compilation of 50 completely different games, many by different developers, while Caves Of Qud is an insanely complex role-playing game that was literally 15 years in the making. Caves Of Qud is out in 'winter 2025', while UFO 50 is out today. It's a real shame more time wasn't spent on promoting it, as surely that was the whole point of the Direct. Instead, we imagine most people will have completely missed it and/or have no idea what it is. It has a 91 on Metacritic though and we gave it 9/10 on PC, so we really do advise you give it a try. As we write this it's not yet on the eShop, so we don't know how much it is, but it was £20.99 on PC. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
Metro
13 hours ago
- Metro
Games Inbox: When will Switch 2 get a new 3D Mario game?
The Thursday letters page tries to predict what will be in today's Indie World Nintendo Direct, as a number of readers admit to being adult fans of Fortnite. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ Your 3D Mario is in another castle In an ideal world the thing to do for the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. is a brand new 3D Super Mario or at least a big budget 2D one. But I don't see any likelihood of that happening. People have said they're probably waiting for the new movie next April, but they did exactly nothing for the last one so I'd hardly say that was a dead cert. And even if they do, I would've thought a 2D game was more likely, because that's what the majority of people going to see the film (aka parents) will be thinking of when they think Mario. There's also the fact that the 3D Mario team made Donkey Kong Bananza, so either they're not doing the next game or it's going to take years and years. I honestly think it's the second option and that it's going to be several more anniversaries until we get a follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey, which is upsetting because it's going to be nine years old next year. Yes, it's been that long. Lupin Irritating solution On top of everything else that's wrong with the games industry at the moment I get the feeling it's all going to get a lot more… awkward in the future. This GTA Online age checking system is clearly real and I'm sure it's just the start. Fortnite is technically rated 12, or at least the Battle Royale bit is, but how many parents stick to that? Imagine how irritated they're going to be when little Johnny constantly wants his dad to do the face check to let him online. I'm not even saying that online checks aren't a good idea, the problem is we don't have the technology to do it conveniently or accurately. It's easy to cheat and yet it's going to constantly get in your face, literally. There are bigger problems in the world but it's the little things that irritate and it's going to put people off. Gonk Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Indie darlings So what do we think is going to be at the Indie World Nintendo Direct today? Not Silksong, according to every rumour I've seen, but I'd be surprised if Hades 2 wasn't mentioned and maybe the Slay The Spire 2 early access could come to Switch 2? Maybe Blue Prince too, now that's blown up quite a bit. Clair Obsur: Expedition 33 too, probably. As I understand it, most Indie games sold best on Switch 1 so I'm hoping the Switch 2 will be a favourite too, although its sounds like that lack of devkits worldwide isn't going to help. Maybe that's why the thing is only 15 minutes long! Gorko Email your comments to: gamecentral@ New Super Mario All-Stars I will laugh (well, inwardly chuckle) if Nintendo don't celebrate the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., after making such an unnecessary fuss about the 35th. Even though we know it's fake, a compilation of the New Super Mario Bros. games does sound believable, despite them not even being very good games. My dream would be a modern equivalent of Super Mario All-Stars where you take the original three games and remake them with modern graphics. Except absolutely not the boring New Super Mario Bros. style, but something new and interesting and weird. I don't think Nintendo will put that kind of effort into it though, which is a shame. I would be surprised if we don't get some kind of compilation though. It's just easy money for them, and right before Christmas. Tacle A high tide Really enjoyed your coverage of Gradius Origins and the… hesitant return of Konami. Although, the 101 Silent Hill games and nothing for Castlevania is super strange, especially as the Silent Hill 2 remake is the only good one so far. I am relatively hopefully about Silent Hill f but a bit worried that it will have more combat in it, apparently to attract more younger players. That makes me immediately worried, when it's a game that's meant to be scary, not an action game. Curious to know if you'll be previewing it soon and how it's looking. At the end of the day, the more of their games, no matter what they are, that are successful the more they'll be willing to do more. Lambo GC: We should be seeing it at Gamescom. First person view It's interesting listening to the talk around the Switch 2. I've had it since launch with the Mario Kart bundle. I'm not a massive fan of Mario Kart but enjoyed playing for a few hours and will dip in. I've just finished Cyberpunk 2077; I've really enjoyed it, I don't usually play first person games but I've loved it and it's made me think I've missed out on some other similar great games. Any recommendations on Switch would be welcome. When the original Switch came out I had a pre-order but cancelled it due to a lack of games, I knew I would play Zelda but felt I'd wait so picked one up a couple of months later. It is without doubt my favourite console ever. The difference for me with the Switch 2 is I already have so many classic games that even if it had a quiet year I had plenty to play, especially with the online. I've got Donkey Kong Bananza to start now and I'm looking forward to Star Wars Outlaws and hopefully Metroid before Xmas and I'll be well happy for the first year. I agree the that last Direct was poor, the first one I can remember with nothing I was interested in, hopefully the indie one will be better. It may not sell like the Switch but having access to all those great games, plus most of Nintendo's back catalogue, suggests it will be my new favourite console, especially when a new Zelda and Mario land. Keep up the great work. Kineticinduction GC: Thank you. There aren't many first person games of note on the Switch 2 yet but Borderlands 4 is out in October and of course there's Metroid Prime 4 at some point later this year. Bad influence In response to Whistler's question: I will be 40 next week and have not and will never play Fortnite. As far as I'm concerned it and its success are among the worst things to happen to the video game industry. All it has done is inspire publishers to pressure its once-great studios to try and recreate this garbage and its exploitative financial model. The sooner Fortnite dies the better, but I fear that it will far outlast the rest of the gaming industry. StellarFlux Free for all In response to the email about adults and Fortnite. I would say that there is a fairly substantial adult following. I play and I'm pushing an age I dare not mention, and I play with a various other people from 20 to 50 years old. I initially never got along with it, because of the building, as it was too much for me but always thought it was well supported in terms of updates and skins. Then a few years back they added the zero build mode and I was encouraged to try, so I did. And since then it's been my go-to game. It's easy to pick up, hard to master and games don't leave you dead for too long, so when time is a premium you can just pick up and play. They also pump out skins that appeal to older folks (like RoboCop, Aliens, Knight Rider, and Star Wars) that tugs directly at the wallet. I would recommend giving it a go, it's free and fun. Wayne Inbox also-ransI'm a 47-year-old mum of two, aged 10 and 13 years old. I play Fortnite regularly. My husband and I often play together in the evenings. I started in lockdown playing altogether as a family… Rebecca Good news. I got on to the open beta for Battlefield 6. Bad news, I'm 21,000 in the queue, which started at 35,000. I don't think I'm getting on. Bobwallett More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@ The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: Do adults still play Fortnite? MORE: Games Inbox: Will Battlefield 6 outsell Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7? MORE: Games Inbox: What year will PS6 be released?
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
GTA Online age check settings confirmed real as screenshots leak
Rockstar's rumoured age verification system for GTA Online appears to be real, as a reliable leaker unearths menu screens showing it in action. The UK's Online Safety Act has led to a wave of newly implemented age checks across porn sites and social media, but it's creeping its way into gaming, too. Platforms like Discord have already rolled out age verification systems to access certain features and age-restricted content, and a leaker earlier this month claimed Rockstar was planning to add something similar to GTA Online. A week later, and the same leaker has posted further evidence that age verification in GTA Online is happening – this time via actual screenshots. In a post on X, Tez2, a long-serving dataminer for Rockstar titles, posted screenshots of the menu screens showing the age check settings. 'A preview of age assurance in-game,' they wrote. 'This is not active yet.' One screenshot shows a splash screen for GTA Online with 'please verify your age to access online features' emblazoned across the bottom. Another screenshot shows new toggles in the settings menu, with the option to 'verify age' at the top and buttons below it to turn on online access, store access, and Snapmatic upload, presumably once you've confirmed your age. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Based on these screenshots, it's unclear what options there'll be to verify your age, but it will likely involve some kind of facial recognition scan or credit card details, based on what's been implemented elsewhere. More Trending Rockstar hasn't officially announced any age check systems for GTA Online yet, but it certainly makes sense to avoid any blowback from these new laws – especially ahead of GTA 6 next year, which will likely become another focal point of controversy. The big question, if these age checks are rolled out, is whether this might impact the sales of GTA 6 to some degree. Although considering adults have been buying 18+ games for underage teens for decades, this will likely just become another minor nuisance for parents who aren't that bothered about their offspring attending a virtual strip club. GTA 6 is set to launch on May 26 next year across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, but there are concerns it could be delayed again. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: EA Sports FC 26 hands-on preview – a bigger change than you think MORE: Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary leaks are fake but what is Nintendo planning? MORE: Genshin Impact sparks fan fury as it shuts down PS4 version
