Grand Theft Auto Will Not Become an Annual Franchise, Take-Two Confirms

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, has no plans to make Grand Theft Auto an annual franchise. Speaking to MCV, the head of this major publisher restated that while there’s a massive demand for the open-world crime series, fans are more than willing to continue to buy new experiences in existing games.  

“It is great that consumers anticipate our titles, like they anticipate the next James Bond film,” he said. “Our goal is to create permanent franchises.

“A few years ago, we’d launch a title, it would be sold physically, then we would sell catalogue versions of it. Today we launch a title, and often – if not always – put out DLC. We’ve talked about recurrent consumer spending, where we have offerings where fans can engage and spend money on an on-going basis.”

Grand Theft Auto Online continues to be a success, and Take-Two has plenty of other properties to make sequels to. Really, there’s just no need for a consistent flow of entries in this money-making series.

“With GTA 5, we have sold 32.5 million units to date, which is extraordinary. 70 percent of people that have played GTA 5 while online have played GTA Online, which is a free-to-play experience,” Zelnick continued. “And recurrent consumer spending related to GTA Online represented nearly half of our digitally delivered revenue in the quarter. So people are voting that they want to stay engaged and they are voting with their wallets.”