take two ceo fires back at investor over gta 6 delays and franchise dependence

Saw this GamesRadar piece and the headline alone made me laugh. Take-Two's CEO apparently went in on an investor who was complaining about years of delays, missed expectations, and the company leaning on a few big franchises. With GTA 6 launching November 19, the timing is almost too perfect.

The investor's whole argument is that Take-Two is too dependent on GTA and a couple other series. Meanwhile the CEO fired back that Take-Two was nearly bankrupt before GTA 5 came out. That game basically saved the company. Now we're two months from GTA 6 and someone's still mad about how long it took.

I remember the GTA 5 launch era. Rockstar was the only thing keeping Take-Two afloat. If that game had underperformed, the studio landscape would look completely different today. So hearing the CEO bring that up as a defense is pretty wild. He's not wrong though. GTA Online alone has been printing money for over a decade.

The "missed expectations" part is funny too. What expectations? They've been quiet for years and then dropped two trailers and an extended look that broke the internet. Pre-orders opened back in June and the Ultimate Edition is $99.99. People are clearly ready.

I get that shareholders want diversification, but when you've got a franchise that can carry the entire company, maybe you let it cook. The investor sounds like they'd rather have five mediocre games than one masterpiece.

Do you think Take-Two actually needs to branch out, or is riding GTA 6 for the next five years the smartest play they've got?

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Source: GamesRadar+ · Curated content.