Recently, the video game industry had a bit of a change. There’s a new movement to get subscription services out for video games. You could compare these services to services like Netflix. Players will get a massive catalog of video game titles that they can go through as they please. One of the most extensive services right now is Microsoft’s Game Pass. While you can count on several video game titles coming to the service at launch, such as Microsoft’s first-party titles, don’t count on Take-Two Interactive to join in.
Recently, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick was questioned about these services. While Take-Two had recently seen the release and exit of Grand Theft Auto V on Xbox Game Pass, it doesn’t look like the company is warming up to the service. Instead, Strauss Zelnick has made note that the service doesn’t necessarily work for creators. It might be good for consumers who want many products. Still, it doesn’t make too much sense economically for a creator that’s releasing a big video game title.
“Our views remain unchanged. We think a subscription model can make sense for deep catalog titles. But it doesn’t really make sense for frontline titles. For any business model to make sense in the entertainment business, it has to work for the creators of the entertainment as well as the consumers of the entertainment. I think catalog can make sense for the publishers, it can make sense for the consumers who are avid, who really want access to a lot of product. But if you’re getting into frontline product, then the economics are much more difficult to make sense of.”
That doesn’t mean Strauss will not see any of their video game titles hit the subscription services like Xbox’s Game Pass. This is the mindset Take-Two Interactive has for new big video game titles. We could see past video game titles hit the subscription services. After all, GTA 5 was one of the games that just was featured on Game Pass. Perhaps we’ll see a change of heart for Take-Two Interactive later on. Still, for now, it doesn’t look like we’ll start seeing their latest games on subscription-based services anytime soon.
