Latest news with #JasonSchreier
The Verge
a day ago
- Business
- The Verge
EA's Black Panther cancellation explained.
When a big-time video game gets cancelled, expect Jason Schreier at Bloomberg to get the details quick, sharp, and in a hurry. This week EA announced it would cancel its Black Panther game, one of three the publisher has in development for Marvel Games. According to Schreier's reporting, EA executives were frustrated with progress on the game after four years in development.
Forbes
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Gamers Are Making EA, Take-Two And CDPR Scared To Use AI
GTA 6 This past week, Fortnite introduced an AI Darth Vader using James Earl Jones' voice to respond to players' voice chat. It was goofy fun (and in keeping with Jones' voice rights deal), but AI is not starting to make some large publishers nervous for a few reasons. Jason Schreier has an excellent article over at Bloomberg highlights that recent reports from big companies like EA and Take-Two have addressed the issue, as have others like CDPR. On its surface, it seems like GenAI could be used as a tool in games to produce artwork, voice acting, or even game elements themselves. But these companies are starting to realize the very real risks this poses, both legally and 'reputationally.' Take-Two says that the use of AI 'presents social and ethical issues that may result in legal and reputational harm and liability. EA echoes something similar, saying that the use of AI 'may result in legal and reputational harm' which would cause players to 'lose confidence in our business and brands.' We've already heard aspects of this in the past from fan-favorite developer CDPR as well, which said: 'Use of GAI raises many legal concerns, including lack of IPR protection for content on which GAI relies, or potential inadvertent infringement of third-party IPR.' FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Cyberpunk 2077 So there are two issues here. 1) The legality of GenAI is still in flux. Yes, big tech companies from Google to Meta to OpenAI are blasting forward by training their models on the entire internet, copyrighted work they don't own. A number of content producers, from the New York Times to musicians and actors are suing various services and there have yet to be any firm decisions about what can or cannot be used with GenAI. So the issue here would be that if you use AI assets in the game, and rulings come down that this is all now illegal, you'd have to reshape large parts of your game, or even risk legal action yourself if you were wrapped up with all these other entities. 2) 'Reputational harm' is a very real thing with gamers right now. When a game is discovered to be using GenAI, it's roasted online and players deem it 'slop' and sometimes will even say they'll boycott a game because of it. Attach GenAI to your games, which is at this point, not hard to spot, and you risk associating that brand with tech everyone hates, including many of the developers actually making those games, like say, artists or writers that are having their work replaced by 'slop.' Darth Vader Even with instances like the Darth Vader AI in Fortnite, which is approved of and licensed by the family of James Earl Jones, how does that affect video game voice actors, and there is already a strike going on there where the attempt to license voices to be fed into AI is a core issue. There may be an aspect of AI more generally to help with development in more technical ways, but GenAI to create art or voicework is an entirely different category and something that as of now, has been roundly rejected by gamers to the point that this kind of things needs to work its way into financial reports. It reminds me of the whole web3/NFT craze that then turned into the metaverse crazy and then they all died because…gamers didn't want any of that. AI at large is already reshaping the world, but perhaps gamers can keep this wall up so it doesn't make it into video games. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
The Market Online
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Market Online
GTA VI's delay is such a big deal, even lawyers are getting involved
On Friday, it was announced that 'Grand Theft Auto VI''s release would be pushed back from this autumn to May 26, 2026, during the Take Two's fiscal 2027 Legal firm Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP is investigating potential securities laws violations by Take-Two because of this, reaching out to investors who suffered losses Take-Two plans to report its financial results for Q4 and Fiscal 2025, after the market close on Thursday, May 15, 2025 Take-Two Interactive Software stock (NASDAQ:TTWO) opened trading at US$218.50 It was supposed to be the most anticipated release in entertainment history, but the 'Grand Theft Auto VI' delay hasn't just caused a backlash among fans. On Friday, it was announced that the game would be pushed back from this autumn to May 26, 2026, during the Take Two's fiscal 2027. Video game holding company Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO), who owns GTA's publishing label, Rockstar Games, saw its stock take a major hit on this news. Down more than 10 per cent (US$24.17 per share) once word got out and closed 6.66 per cent lower by Friday's close. As The Ringer pointed out in its coverage of this delay, while players and developers would win from this … who loses? Shareholders. Legal firm Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP smelled blood in the water and is investigating potential securities laws violations by Take-Two because of this, reaching out to investors who suffered losses. Why the delay? Bloomberg's Jason Schreier explained on BlueSky that 'Nobody I've talked to at Rockstar has believed Fall 2025 was a real window for a very long time now. Too much work, not enough time, and what appears to be a real desire from management to avoid brutal crunch.' 'We are very sorry that this is later than you expected', Rockstar's team wrote on the front page of its website. 'We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.' The only reason the date was expected was because that was when Rockstar said the game would be available. Even so, Take-Two has had Rockstar's back. 'We support fully Rockstar Games taking additional time to realize their creative vision for Grand Theft Auto VI, which promises to bea groundbreaking, blockbuster entertainment experience that exceeds audience expectations,' Take-Two's chair and CEO, Strauss Zelnick said in a news release. 'While we take the movement of our titles seriously and appreciate the vast and deep global anticipation for Grand Theft Auto VI, we remain steadfast in our commitment to excellence. As we continue to release our phenomenal pipeline, we expect to deliver a multi-year period of growth in our business and enhanced value for our shareholders.' Take-Two plans to report its financial results for Q4 and Fiscal 2025, after the market close on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Take-Two Interactive Software stock (NASDAQ:TTWO) is 0.43 higher in early trading at US$220.44. TTWO stock fell 2.68 per cent last week but is still trading 47.97 per cent higher than where it was this time last year. Join the discussion: Find out what everybody's saying about this stock on the Take-Two Interactive Software Bullboard, and check out the rest of Stockhouse's stock forums and message boards. The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
Express Tribune
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Rockstar Games allegedly knew about GTA 6 delay months in advance
Despite previously aiming for a late 2025 launch, Rockstar Games reportedly knew internally that Grand Theft Auto VI would likely be delayed well before it was made official. The next installment in the blockbuster franchise, first teased in 2023 with a record-shattering trailer, has been largely absent from the spotlight since, leaving fans eagerly awaiting updates and fueling ongoing speculation about its progress. According to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, developers at Rockstar had long doubted the 2025 release window due to the project's massive scale, tight timelines, and the studio's commitment to healthier development practices. 'Nobody I've talked to at Rockstar has believed Fall 2025 was a real window for a very long time now,' Schreier shared on Bluesky, referencing the company's deliberate move away from the 'brutal crunch' that defined earlier releases like Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V. While mandatory overtime hasn't been entirely eliminated, Schreier emphasized that the current work environment is 'night and day' compared to the studio's previous cycles. Rockstar's cultural shift toward sustainable production appears to be one of the key reasons behind the internal expectation of delays and why the studio never rushed to reassure the public of its original timeline. Now, the game has been officially moved to a release date of May 26, 2026, though some remain skeptical it will even meet that target. As fans eagerly await a second trailer, some former Rockstar developers believe the hype machine doesn't necessarily need another big push. Another year of, "We got ____ before GTA 6." For a title as highly anticipated as GTA VI, silence may be all the marketing it needs.
Forbes
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
A Reported Reason Why ‘GTA 6' Has Been Delayed So Long
GTA 6 It was shocking but not surprising when Rockstar announced yesterday that Grand Theft Auto 6 would be delayed out of its fall 2025 release window and instead be out 6+ months later on May 26, 2026. The stated reasons Rockstar gave were the usual things like 'we want to exceed your expectations' and 'deliver the level of quality you deserve,' but behind the scenes, a new report from the ever-reliable Jason Schreier gets into specifics. And it actually makes Rockstar look…good? Schreier claims that a part of the reason for this delay is to purposefully avoid the kinds of brutal crunch in races to the finish line that the studio has suffered before. Schreier previously covered this in a 2018 story about Red Dead Redemption 2, and he says he's been keeping an eye on things since. This seems to have resulted in at some positive changes, and that it's factoring into the GTA 6 delay decision. Here's Schreier on BlueSky: Then, responding to pushback about the crunch issue, he continues: FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder GTA 6 This has not been without pain on Rockstar's end, as this announcement to push GTA 6 out of the fiscal year after repeated assurances to investors it would be out this fall, has resulted in a nearly 7% stock drop in the past day, albeit Take-Two has avoided the crushing declines in other areas of the market, with its stock up 50% over the course of the past year. It is currently in the highest window it's ever been, so investors can't be too upset. There are no real downsides to the GTA 6 delay. Players will get to play a better game. Rockstar employees will hopefully not be worked quite as relentlessly. Other developers can now breathe a sigh of relief that it's not out this fall. And we finally have an actual release date. But still, how about another trailer? Eh? Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
