Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has revealed why they have stayed mum on the marketing for Grand Theft Auto 6.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Zelnick was interviewed by Bloomberg about the finer details of running a video game company. The interviewer asked Zelnick about why his company was seemingly being far too secretive about the game’s release date.
Here’s what Zelnick had to say:
“The anticipation for that title may be the greatest anticipation I’ve ever seen for an entertainment property, and I’ve been around the block a few times, and I’ve been in every entertainment business there is. And we want to maintain the anticipation and the excitement.
We do have competitors who will describe their release schedule for years in advance, and we’ve found that the better thing to do is to provide marketing materials relatively close to the release window in order to create that excitement on the one hand, and balance the excitement with unmet anticipation.
We don’t always get it exactly right, but that’s what we’re trying to do.”
And really, what Zelnick is saying lines up with the consensus from the rest of the industry as well. It’s certainly something that’s disappointing hardcore gamers, who used to enjoy seeing hype cycles for their favorite games go on for months, and in some cases, even years.
But what gamers of all kinds would take from this now should be obvious. Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive won’t be commenting on all those rumors and speculation about when Grand Theft Auto 6 will release, because they want to save all their marketing investment for when it will be most productive; two weeks before release.
While other game companies are expressing real FUD about releasing too close to Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar and Take-Two are facing an unlikely rival for gamer’s attention. Nintendo’s Switch 2 is coming in uncomfortably too close to Grand Theft Auto 6. While they are completely different products, if the new blockbuster game and new blockbuster console release close to each other, many consumers will have to choose between them.
Of course, a lot of gamers will pick up both, but Take-Two and Nintendo are certainly cognizant that both may needlessly lose out on making more money if they get too close to each other.
It just so happens that Nintendo is playing their hand this week with the Switch 2 reveal, so Rockstar and Take-Two may make their plans in reaction to Nintendo’s announcement, alongside their own development progress.
