Take-Two CEO Defends GTA 6 Delay, Says It’s Aiming to Be “The Best Thing Anyone’s Ever Seen” Despite Not Being a Gamer

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, is confident that the delay of Grand Theft Auto VI is a necessary move to ensure the game lives up to sky-high expectations. Despite revealing in a recent interview with CNBC that he doesn’t actually play video games, Zelnick strongly believes in Rockstar Games’ vision for perfection.

“Rockstar Games is trying to create the best thing anyone’s ever seen in entertainment—not just interactive entertainment—and that’s a tall order,” Zelnick said.

The delay, initially disappointing to many fans, comes with the promise of a highly polished product. Zelnick emphasized that Take-Two is not driven by deadlines, but by quality, which he says has been key to their long-term success.

“The delay itself is really a reflection of the desire to polish and create the best possible experience for consumers,” Zelnick added.

The excitement surrounding GTA 6 hasn’t waned. When Rockstar dropped its second trailer in December 2023, it broke records with 475 million views in just 24 hours, surpassing even Rockstar’s own previous benchmarks.

Despite the CEO’s non-gamer status, Take-Two’s performance remains strong. The company has seen a 6% year-over-year stock increase, and its continued success with GTA Online and Red Dead Redemption speaks for itself.

Zelnick insists his role isn’t to lead from a gamer’s perspective, but rather to empower the best talent:

“I’m not a gamer. I don’t play video games at all,” he admitted. “My role is to attract and motivate the best talent in the business and then get out of their way.”

While the exact release date is still under wraps, GTA 6 is now expected sometime in 2026, and fans are hopeful the extra time will be worth the wait.