Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software, talked about the latest plans the triple-A game publisher has with its upcoming titles and his view of possible tariffs on game consoles.
I interviewed Zelnick briefly today and asked if Take-Two would support the Nintendo Switch 2 in a big way. He said he could not comment on their plans. And he added, “Historically, we’ve supported all major platforms and we’ve selectively supported Nintendo platforms. For example, Civ 7, which is in early access today, will be available for Switch. So I would have every belief that we’ll be supportive of Switch 2.”
And I asked if he would offer a reassurance that the dates for Mafia: The Old Country and Grand Theft Auto VI would not slip, given there is no launch date for those games yet. Take-Two only reiterated its expectation that Mafia would debut in the summer and GTA VI would debut in the fall.
“It’s always the possibilities in our business. However, we’ve given the narrow window for upcoming titles. After all, it is February and we’ve outlined the release schedule through calendar year end,” he said.
Asked if he were worried about the tariffs proposed by Donald Trump and whether they would affect game hardware or disc sales, he said, “I’m not sure it would affect physical discs. I do think the tariffs could be a negative for console sales. As an economist, I’m not a big fan of trade wars. I do think there are moments where tariffs make sense. I’m encouraged by the pause in Mexico and Canada. But I’m a free trader so generally speaking I don’t think tariffs are the right way to build or tax an economy.”
Take-Two confirmed that Michael Condrey, founder of the 31st Union game studio, had left the company. It also announced that studio is making Project Ethos. Asked about it, he said, “We’re grateful to Michael Condrey. He did amazing work for us. He brought us a project and created a team. He is going to continue to advise us on the future of Project Ethos. We’ll be managing that. The transition team” is leading the completion of that game.
As for direct-to-consumer mobile sales, I noted the company said it is growing and asked if he views that as a strategic opportunity.
He said he expect direct-to-consumer will be a bigger part of the company’s mobile platform than it currently is.
“That said, it’s certainly not going to be the lion’s share of sales. We’re still quite happy to work with our retail partners, and we’ll continue to do so worldwide,” he said.
As for the mobile trends that have slowed Zynga’s sales, he said, “Our view is that mobile has returned to modest growth, but we haven’t had the kind of powerful industry tailwinds that everyone was enjoying up until mid-2022.
“So the good news is that it’s back to growth. The other news is it’s still a somewhat challenging market. Our recurrent consumer spending mobile was up about 6% in the quarter,” he said. “That was somewhat shy of our expectations. On the other hand, we had this huge hit in Match Factory and great performance in many titles like Toon Blast and Toy Blast. So we’re feeling very good about Zynga. We’re thrilled that it’s part of our portfolio. We have what we believe will be great releases coming up. At the same time, the industry is a bit challenged.”
I also asked about the ESA’s new business conference, iicon, coming in 2026. He said, “I’m super excited about it. Frankly i think it’s going to be great.”
