It’s not easy bringing out new AAA games into the marketplace. There is a strong demand for quality as expected! Anything that doesn’t meet close to expectations will fall behind. Even big names can find a hard time to deliver on that front. For example, Sony just saw the release and sudden closure of Concord. Recently, Gamesindustry.biz had the chance to speak with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick about the state of AAA gaming.
During the conversation, Strauss was asked about AAA and how some games are struggling in that department lately. One example given was Star Wars Outlaws which didn’t seem to quite connect with players. According to the CEO, right now it’s getting harder to make those kinds of games and that’s expected with all entertainment businesses as they mature.
I think it’s hard and it’s getting harder. And that’s true of all entertainment businesses as they begin to mature.
The quality threshold that the consumer demands always goes up, and that works for us because we have a three-part strategy to be the most creative, the most innovative, and the most efficient company in the entertainment industry. If we come close to achieving those goals, then we meet the consumer where they are and where they want to be. But there’s no doubt that quality demands always increase over time. –Strauss Zelnick
But it seems that the CEO is confident that they can deliver the quality that fans demand. We’re certainly hoping so as they do have some notable heavy hitters coming our way next year. With the likes of not only Grand Theft Auto VI, but also Borderlands 4, Mafia: The Old Country, and Civilization 7. While that might have quite a few fans interested in seeing Take-Two continue to pour these games out regularly, that wasn’t actually planned out.
First of all, we bring the titles to market when they’re ready and not before, so we can’t manage the timing perfectly. Secondly, we’ve been building our pipeline for years in service of having an annual release schedule that’s robust year in, year out. –Strauss Zelnick
Strauss essentially noted that they only release games when they are ready. So for all of these to land in 2025, that’s simply due to developers getting them at a point where they can ship. Of course, that’s also betting on no delays to pop up. In other recent news regarding Strauss Zelnick it looks like Grand Theft Auto VI might not be a problem with the Xbox Series S as the CEO was recently asked about the console and the highly anticipated title release.
