Take-Two Interactive CEO Straus Zelnick comments on the possibility of turning the Grand Theft Auto franchise into a feature film or TV series. With the entertainment industry’s eyes on the impending release of Grand Theft Auto 6, Zelnick is making the rounds, speaking not only to gaming media but also to business- and finance-focused outlets.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be the biggest launch in gaming history. On top of that, Zelnick believes that if everything goes off without a hitch, GTA could become one of the biggest properties in entertainment. Still, he’s hesitant about adaptations for GTA or any other gaming property under the Take-Two umbrella.
Could GTA Get a Movie or TV Show? Take-Two CEO Responds
While speaking with David Rubinstein, Zelnick was asked about extending the GTA franchise beyond gaming with an on-screen adaptation. This is becoming common in the gaming industry, with properties like The Witcher, Fallout, The Last of Us, Far Cry, God of War, and more already in development as adaptations.
Zelnick noted that Take-Two is very cautious about IP adaptations because they only want to make entertainment they’re proud of. That said, they would be open to a GTA movie or TV show if the creative teams were truly passionate about the idea and had a strong approach to keep consumers engaged. So, it’s not ruled out, but it doesn’t sound like it’s in the works anytime soon.
We’re very careful about line extensions because this is a creative company and our goal is to make the best entertainment on earth possible. Entertainment we’re always proud of. We would make a movie or a television show based on our intellectual property if our creative teams were passionate about it, if they thought that would somehow engage and delight our consumers. It’s a high bar to do that. Of course, there’s always a risk of failure. So we don’t rule it out, but we’re very, very selective.
Grand Theft Auto 6 will release on November 19. It will be available on PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series consoles. For those who still have last-gen XBOX consoles, cloud play is an option for experiencing GTA 6.
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I'm Robert DeFelice. I spent years covering pro-wrestling industry for outlets such as Fightful. After years in wrestling journalism, I’ve transitioned to video games, another passion of mine.
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