The gaming industry has been built on competition for a long time. Go back to the earliest days of consoles and arcade machines, and you can see just how far people will go to try and make something that will outdo the competition. While things are technically “slowing down” on that spectrum, due to many publishers going multiplatform versus doing exclusives, there are still some competitions to be had. For example, absolutely no one wants to go up against GTA 6 when it arrives next year. After all, the franchise is nearing 500 million units sold across its franchise, and the last entry was so good that it landed on the top ten sales charts for a decade!
So, it might be surprising to you that, as noted by VICE, the heads of Take-Two Interactive are actually a bit worried about a certain bit of competition via…Roblox. Yeah, really. Apparently, they see the online universe as competition simply because it has a track record of keeping large numbers of gamers coming back every single year. Strauss Zelnick had this to say on the matter:
“The impressive numbers that Roblox is delivering is something we are mindful of. Take-Two does not rest on our laurels and doesn’t believe that success is guaranteed. We are looking over our shoulders. We are running scared. I am not sure specifically about what young people want versus any other segment of the population. However, I am sure there is great opportunity if you bring somebody something fantastic and unexpected.”
The competition is apparently “so fierce” in his mind that it might actually affect the game itself via its price when it arrives.
Now, let’s look at this in the most basic of ways: “Does GTA 6 have something to fear here?” Honestly, no. Not in the way most people are thinking. The difference between these two titles is substance and price. Rockstar Games makes quality titles every time, while the Roblox universe is built on gamer creations that have to constantly grow and evolve.
Yes, there are live-service elements to the crime franchise, but there’s still a massive core game to play, and you don’t need to do microtransactions to enjoy it.
As for price, or more accurately, profit, Roblox is infamously in the red despite making a lot of money each year. When Rockstar Games drops its title next year, it’s expected to break every kind of gaming record out there, and that’s BEFORE the microtransactions, expansions, and other pieces of content come into play. So, while Take-Two is saying this about their “competition,” you must wonder if it’s really competition at all.
