Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick Discusses GTA VI Delay and BioShock in New Interview

Take-Two Interactive chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick sat for a 20-minute interview last week with journalist Stephen Totilo ahead of a panel at the iicon event in Las Vegas. The discussion covered the state of the BioShock franchise, rising game development costs, the status of a multi-game NFL partnership, mobile strategy, and the upcoming Civilization VII.

Zelnick addressed how he learns of delays at Rockstar Games, including the November 2025 announcement that Grand Theft Auto VI would miss its original May 26, 2026 release date and shift to November 19, 2026. He described Take-Two's flat management structure, with a senior team of six executives sharing two assistants and two leaders per label, and said updates occur through regular weekly meetings rather than formal emails or calls.

On handling such news, Zelnick said he defaults to calm and does not easily become agitated. He contrasted business challenges with personal family matters involving his daughter, noting he has never been observed raising his voice by longtime communications head Alan Lewis, who has worked with him for 17 years.

Totilo noted that the interview touched on BioShock updates, game pricing, the NFL deal, mobile plans, Civilization VII, NBA 2K microtransactions, and Take-Two's view of the Switch 2. Zelnick declined to disclose details on Grand Theft Auto VI pricing, PC release timing, or specific content features.

The exchange highlighted Zelnick's precise and composed responses throughout the session.