Strauss Zelnick “not in the least” bit worried about GTA 6 delay: “We’re feeling really good about it”

Take Two released strong financial results today, but with one big spoiler: GTA 6, a game expected to easily become one of the best-selling entertainment products of all time, was delayed again.

The new release date will be six months from now, at the main Thanksgiving location, November 26, 2026. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, when asked, will not commit to not delaying the release again. However, he's “confident about the date, that's why we set it,” he told us. “We're working hard to deliver the most outstanding interactive entertainment ever created, Rockstar and I agree on that and we love it.”

He's not “in the least bit” concerned about the impact it might have on the business. “As you know, sometimes our entire company, including 2K and our mobile business, sometimes needs more time to polish a game to ensure it ships in the best shape possible. And, of course, it will be released in the same financial year as the previous date.”

GTA will, of course, be a huge hit – and while the delay may briefly impact Take-Two's share price, it has quickly recovered from the impact of the previous one and the game will still sell very well whenever it arrives. The bigger impact will be on the industry as a whole, including many publishers who built their 2026 plans around the expected lack of attention in May and are now forced to tear them up and start again.

Does Zelnick feel responsible for the consequences of this delay? “You are right that we are an important player in the industry, and we and our competitors will adapt release dates to the competitive environment,” he says. “But at the end of the day, we have a responsibility to do the right thing for our consumers, and that means delivering the best entertainment experience possible.”

The company also doesn't rely on GTA for its success. The latest financial reports show another strong year for mobile devices, which account for 46% of the company's revenue compared to 15% for Rockstar. Zelnick believes this level of performance is critical to the company's ambition “to be known as the leading interactive entertainment company in the world. That's what we're trying to do here.”

“To be that company, we need to have access to the mobile devices that we have. It's a very important part of the business, it's growing faster than the console and PC parts of the business, and the fact that Zynga represents about 50% of our net bookings, I think that's really good.

“And most importantly, Zynga's ability to produce back-to-back hits is truly impressive. We have legacy games like Toon Blast posting record-breaking results, while newer games like Match Factory and Color Block Jam are crushing it. Frankly, I am very pleased with the results that the Zynga division is delivering.”

He expects recent changes in mobile app store laws to bring in additional revenue. “We've been focused on the direct-to-consumer business since we acquired Zynga, and we report that it's growing rapidly and obviously has high additive efficiencies,” he said. “This is a very highly profitable business compared to app stores. The latest legislative outcome gives us the opportunity to do more to develop it internationally, and as we do more, we expect to generate more net orders from these activities and they will have higher corresponding margins.”

He points to Zynga as a prime example of the company's investment in original intellectual property, even as it counts on strong performances from big-name artists like NBA 2K26 and Mafia: The Old Country.

“One thing Zynga is willing to do is continually invest in legacy and new games. Their ability to create new hits is, I think, unmatched in the business right now. So we are certainly looking to create more smart objects in mobile devices,” he said. “And on the console side, while we have 11 franchises that have each sold at least five million units per release, we're also bringing new properties to market, whether it's Ken Levine's Judas coming soon or 31st Union's Itos on 2K.”

However, the company has been slow to capitalize on the recent boom in gaming transmedia, which isn't surprising given the dismal reception of the 2023 Borderlands film. With other adaptations like Netflix's Fallout series doing much better, Take Two continues to talk about licensing, but “selectively,” according to Zelnick.

“Sometimes they work well, sometimes they don’t work so well, we are not in the business of producing films or TV shows and have no intention of doing so. The economics of this business are not positive for us. So we'll only use the licensing scenario when it makes sense, and we're going to continue to be selective. We are not going to rule out this possibility.”

Otherwise, Take Two finds itself increasingly alone as the last remaining major game publisher in the US following the takeover of Activision and Bethesda by Microsoft and EA on its way to going private. Zelnick believes it is in a strong position, “especially when you look at our results, our earnings, our cash flow and our balance sheet.”

“We are proud of our track record as a public company,” he said. “Our stock has only risen 5,000% in the eighteen years that I have been in charge of this organization. As long as we continue to work, we have the right to be independent.”