Take-Two CEO says AI won't make creating hits any easier
Grand Theft Auto chief Strauss Zelnick dismisses machine-assisted blockbusters, studio valuation rests on human-authored content a decade in the making
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Thirteen years after the last Grand Theft Auto release, Take-Two Interactive's chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick is betting the franchise can win back longtime fans while capturing an entirely new generation of players — and he is dismissive of the idea that artificial intelligence makes the job easier. AI "won't make creating hits any easier," Zelnick said in an interview with Business Insider's Sarah E. Needleman for the outlet's "The Long Play" series.
The claim cuts against an industry of consultants now selling AI transformation to media and entertainment companies on the promise that cheaper production means more hits. Zelnick's position implies the opposite: AI lowers the cost of producing content units, which floods distribution channels, which in turn makes the scarce thing — audience attention and demand — more expensive, not less. The company that owns the most valuable single entertainment property in history has no incentive to talk down its own moat, but unlike the consultants, Take-Two's valuation rests directly on human-authored work. The next Grand Theft Auto has been in development for over a decade with no machine substitute on offer.
The interview also covered Zelnick's career in entertainment, his routine for aging well, and his framing of AI as a growth strategy rather than a replacement for the creative process. Take-Two's wager is that a decades-old franchise can stay culturally dominant precisely because cultural dominance cannot be generated on demand.
The studio with the most expensive handcrafted content in gaming is the one telling investors the machines won't help.