GTA 6 publisher says AI won’t help make games release faster

Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two, Rockstar Games’ publisher, believes that AI won’t actually speed up the process of making new games. 

The gaming world has been on tenterhooks for Grand Theft Auto 6 for close to a decade now. Sure, GTA 5 and GTA Online have been incredibly successful, but there are only so many times that you can play through the old story again. 

GTA 6’s release has, of course, been hampered over the years. There have been actor strikes, a global health situation that forced everyone to work from home, and just typical delays. 

The rise of AI has been seen as boost in the production process by some GTA fans, especially as they’ve been rewatching the first trailer and noticing some interesting interior choices on buildings and signs on roads. 

However, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick believes that the increased reliance on AI won’t speed up game releases. 

“The interactive entertainment business has been in AI forever,” he told CNBC. “Let me just remind you that AI stands for artificial intelligence. Which is an oxymoron. There is no such thing.

“All of our tools do help us become more efficient…that said, it’s going to become commoditized. Everyone is going to have access to the same tools. That is the history of toolsets. What it means, though, is our creative people will be able to do fewer mundane tasks and turn their attention to the really creative tasks.

“I would love to say that it’s going to make things cheaper, quicker, better, or easier to make hits. I don’t think that’s the case,” he added.

Fans are desperate for the next installment in the iconic franchise, and have even started resorting to digging into teaser photos for GTA Online updates to see if Rockstar is hiding anything. 

Take-Two have reiterated that GTA 6 is on course for its scheduled 2025 release. However, we still don’t have a release date firmed up.