- Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says, "Of course" critical reviews are important
- The CEO also seemingly took a shot at MindsEye studio Build A Rocket Boy
- He says lots of people, "including former Rockstar employees," have tried and failed to make a hit
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has said Grand Theft Auto 6 reviews will be just as important as the scores for all the other Rockstar Games titles.
It seems that everyone and their grandmother is eagerly awaiting the release of GTA 6, and given Rockstar's reputation, there's no doubt that the studio will deliver another memorable experience. There's a slim chance that the game will be an absolute dud, but according to Zelnick, reviews are vital to the company.
In a recent interview with The Game Business, when host Christopher Dring asked the CEO if critical reviews are still important, he replied, "Of course," adding, "in the same way as it has been in the past, Rockstar’s scores are typically in the mid-90s, sometimes high 90s. Not many games can say that. And that’s a reflection on Rockstar’s commitment to quality."
Zelnick echoed a similar sentiment at the TD Cowen 54th Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference (via Kotaku), where he spoke about the challenges of creating an industry hit. During the talk, the CEO seemingly took a shot at Build A Rocket Boy, the studio behind one of the worst games of 2025, MindsEye, saying there have been those who have failed to make a hit like Rockstar.
"Making hits seems to get harder and harder and harder as entertainment industries mature," Zelnick said. "The folks at Rockstar seem to be able to make these massive hits, and lots of other people have tried. Lots and lots, including former Rockstar employees. And so far, they haven’t been able to do it."
The "former Rockstar employees" Zelnick could be talking about is ex-Grand Theft Auto producer Leslie Benzies, who, after his hugely ambitious single-player action thriller tanked and resulted in mass layoffs, later blamed internal and external saboteurs for the disastrous launch (via IGN).
Zelnick then went on to say that just because no other studio has made a hit like GTA yet "doesn’t mean they can’t in the future, by the way."
"We’re always running scared," he said. "But it won’t be technology that changes the game. What’ll change is that some extraordinarily creative individual or individuals will show up and do something astonishing. Our goal is to get those people to work within the Take-Two system. If we fail to do that, we fail."
Despite delay speculation, Take-Two has reaffirmed that GTA 6 is launching on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S, but the game won't be coming to PC yet.
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