Zelnick says AI won't make hits like GTA 6 for Take-Two

IGN has published a recent interview with Zelnick about AI-assisted reverse engineering. The Take-Two CEO says he sees it as a creative matter rather than a financial threat: in his words, nearly everyone wants the Rockstar experience as Rockstar intended it, and the company protects its intellectual property vigilantly. He adds that Take-Two is not cavalier about the issue.

The outlet notes that Anthropic has updated Claude to make game clones harder to produce. It also quotes Obbe Vermeij, a former Rockstar North technical director, who thinks Rockstar may want to bring GTA 6 to PC as soon as possible. The parts of the interview that IGN reproduces do not spell out which specific measures Take-Two is applying.

Take-Two reported its second fiscal quarter of 2027 that day and took questions from investors. For weeks, AI-powered compilations and decompilations had worried publishers over piracy, and one caller raised it. Zelnick had an answer for that one and for a second question.

Zelnick says no: making a big hit is still the job of human beings. He said so when another investor asked whether AI could give Rockstar Games, the developer of GTA 6, any kind of competitive advantage.

The CEO accepted that recent advances have made it easier to create assets for a game. He recalled that when he started in interactive entertainment, building an asset on a computer was really difficult, and that today it's far easier. What hasn't changed is the bar for a major hit.

The investor asked about AI-powered compilations and decompilations. Zelnick replied that the video game business has been largely immune to piracy because of file sizes, the way console ecosystems work and the online nature of the industry.

He still admitted that AI poses a threat to the industry. He said Take-Two is strengthening its technical defences and its legal activity in proportion, and that every entertainment business deals with some piracy. He expects it to reach Take-Two to a greater or lesser extent, and he believes it will be manageable.

For players, the message is that Take-Two keeps betting on Rockstar's developers for a game that launches on November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Anyone exploring the Leonida map that day will be playing something that, in Zelnick's words, was made with technology but driven by human creativity.

On the same call, Zelnick repeated that pre-orders are well above expectations. He also promised that the game's success will set a new baseline for Take-Two's gaming business.

No. Eurogamer notes that back in March he flatly rejected the idea that AI can tackle games on the scale of GTA 6. Now he repeats the argument in front of investors, with the game only days from launch.

What's different is the context. This time the questions were whether AI can give Rockstar an edge and whether it can hurt sales of Take-Two's games.

Zelnick didn't say which technical tools or legal actions Take-Two will use against AI piracy, or whether they affect any specific game. Eurogamer's report doesn't add further details either.

The next clue comes soon: the preload starts on November 12 and the game launches on November 19. If you preload, do it only from your console's official store.

What did Zelnick say about AI and GTA 6?

That making a big hit remains the purview of human beings. He said it on Take-Two's earnings call on November 9, 2026, according to Eurogamer.

Is Take-Two worried about AI piracy?

Zelnick admits AI is a threat but calls it manageable. He says Take-Two is strengthening its technical and legal defences.

When does GTA 6 launch?

On November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, according to Rockstar Games.