Take-Two Interactive CEO Discusses EA’s Billion Dollar Deal

Given recent events, it can’t be stated enough that while making video games can be a “fun time,” it is absolutely a business. That means that all sorts of things can happen within it in the “name of business,” even if it means having certain things happen to you because of your “risky business ventures.” That brings us to Electronic Arts, which earlier this year revealed a shocking deal that would make the company go private and basically be bought by a group rooted in Saudi Arabia. Naturally, that affects a lot of companies, including Take-Two Interactive in a more roundabout way.

No, Take-Two Interactive isn’t a part of the deal itself, thankfully, but that would make them a bit of a “unicorn” in the gaming market, as they are still a publicly traded company. During yesterday’s investor meeting, as noted by Gamespot, CEO  Strauss Zelnick had this to say about the deal and how it may affect his company going forward:

“We’re always running scared around here. I’m fond of saying arrogance is the enemy of continued success. And I do think we’re in a terrific position. We’re performing much better than expected economically, and that’s because we’re performing better than expected creatively, and that’s always our story around here. And if we can maintain that, then we have a wonderful future ahead of us. It is true that at year-end, we’re really very under-leveraged.”

That’s interesting for him to say, especially given certain things that have happened at some of the developers under his umbrella, including backlash over the most recent Firaxis title, and the backlash around Gearbox Software and the release of its latest title…oh, and the delay of a certain anticipated thing from Rockstar Games. Just saying.

Then, in a chat with The Game Business, he added:

“We wish our competitors well. A good business is well served by having powerful players, not just one powerful player. So, it’s possible that the competitor landscape shifts a bit; it’s also possible nothing changes at all. Either way, we have to do our job, which is make the very best entertainment on earth.”

That is indeed a goal to have, but given recent events on the Rockstar Games front, one could also argue that their “job” is to ensure that company morale is good and that their employees aren’t operating under duress.

Only time will tell how things work out for Take-Two, but we’ll be monitoring with great interest.