GTA 5 Microtransactions Meant to Delight Consumers, Not Extract Value

Adding additional charges to full-priced games isn’t an easy task. More often than not, consumers will feel like publishers are trying to suck all the remaining money out of peoples’ wallets through microtransactions, but take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick sees things differently. His main goal is to help bring fantastic games to life, with the additional charges acting as bonuses to an already solid product.

"Our primary goal is to delight consumers and create a great experience," he told investors in an earnings call. "As you know, GTA Online is a free to play experience and there [are] opportunities for recurrent consumer spending within the game, and no obligation of course."

With 32.5 million copies of the game sold across two platforms, it’s safe to say his goal has been met.

"And the reason that we offer an opportunity to spend money in the game is that's coordinated with a great experience,” he continued. “We are not making decisions in order to extract value, we are making decisions to delight consumers. And that includes creating value.

"Yes, we had some issues with the currency. Those issues have been addressed and we are not really focused on whether the catch-up or anything of this sort. You know as long as people keep loving GTA Online it's going to be great for us.”

Expect to hear more about the open-world title’s DLC in the near future.