Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says AI won’t replace jobs but will help the industry work more efficiently.
Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic in the video game industry, with developers and publishers figuring out how to use it without stepping on legal or ethical landmines. Some see it as a game-changer for development, while others worry about job losses.
Take-Two Interactive, the company behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, is one of the biggest players in the industry, and CEO Strauss Zelnick has opinions on AI. With GTA 6 on the horizon, fans are wondering about Take-Two’s stance on AI and whether it will impact game-making in the future.
Take-Two CEO on AI in Games
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Strauss Zelnick was asked about AI’s role in Take-Two’s future and whether the industry needs any rules to keep it in check.
He started by calling the term “artificial intelligence,” an oxymoron. “Artificial intelligence is an oxymoron, there’s no such thing. Machine learning, machines don’t learn. Those are convenient ways to explain to human beings what looks like magic.”
Zelnick sees AI as just another digital tool that will make game development more efficient—but not at the cost of jobs. He said that technology has historically created more jobs, not fewer, and believes AI will do the same. He also made it clear that Take-Two won’t be using AI in a way that steals other companies’ work.
“The bottom line is that these are digital tools and we’ve used digital tools forever,” said Zelnick. “I have no doubt that what is considered AI today will help make our business more efficient and help us do better work, but it won’t reduce employment.
“To the contrary, the history of digital technology is that technology increases employment, increases productivity, increases GDP and I think that’s what’s going to happen with AI. I think the video game business will probably be on the leading, if not bleeding, edge of using AI.
“But in terms of the guardrails, if you mean, you know, not infringing on other people’s intellectual property by, you know, poaching their LLMs, yeah, we’re not going to do that. Moreover, if we did, we couldn’t protect that, we wouldn’t be able to protect our own IP.”
“So of course, we’re mindful of what technology we use to make sure that it respects others’ intellectual property and allows us to protect our own. Apart from that, I really can’t think of any new guardrails that need to be implemented.”
As for GTA 6, Take-Two reaffirmed in the latest earnings call that it is still slated for release in Fall 2025, but Zelnick admitted that there’s always “a risk of slippage.”
