Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of the shopping mode Grand Theft Auto video games, has had a rough quarter. The company’s earnings today fell short of its guidance, it is planning for cost reductions that may include “modest” layoffs in the workforce, and its biggest potential blockbuster on deck, shopping mode Grand Theft Auto 6, suffered a massive leak late last year.
Take-Two CEO Response to GTA 6 Leaks: Emotional, But No Business Impact
Strauss Zelnick, the CEO, isn’t worried about the leaks having any negative effect on the company, at least in regard to the last point. In an interview with IGN published before today’s financial report by Take-Two, however, he described them as an emotional subject and highlighted their effect on the game’s developers.
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“We take leaks very seriously indeed and they disappoint all of us, it’s really frustrating and upsetting to the team,” he said. “However as a business matter, we’re not affected. But as a personal matter and an emotional matter, our teams are affected.”
Earnings, however, indicate that Take-Two workers may soon see a more tangible financial impact in the form of layoffs. Take-Two is planning to implement cost reduction measures that it expects will save it around $50 million each year after reporting $1.38 billion in net bookings for the quarter, shy of its $1.41 billion guidance. Take-Two claims that this will have repercussions in the workplace.
When I asked Zelnick if layoffs were in the works, he said, that’s not the plan, although he did add that while he doesn’t anticipate widespread layoffs, some positions could be eliminated.
“We don’t expect some kind of broad-based RIF [reduction in force] or anything of the sort, but that said it’s not as though we guarantee lifetime employment sadly,” he said. “So there will be certain instances where jobs will be lost, but I think that will be pretty modest.”
The corporation blames macroeconomic factors for the missed guidance and consequent cost cuts, as consumers choose to spend their money on tried-and-true blockbuster franchises and discounted video games.
Take-Two concedes that while the company benefited, it suffered because of lower sales of newly launched games (perhaps referring to Marvel’s Midnight Suns, which was released in December) and from lower repeat purchases of several of its PC and console titles. It’s important to note that numerous IT and gaming companies have reported
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Take-Two also provided information about the unit sales of its two most successful games, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Red Dead Redemption 2, in the rest of its financial release. Over the past few years, GTA5 has consistently sold more than 5 million copies per quarter, allowing it to surpass 175 million copies.
It was the year’s second-best-selling game on Steam and the third-best-selling game in the United States in terms of unit sales.
ICYMI: The CEO of Grand Theft Auto 6 publisher Take-Two Interactive said the leaks didn't impact the business, but called them an "emotional matter" and focused on the impact to developers working on the game. https://t.co/Giq3DNPPMq pic.twitter.com/ONNLiOPTc0
— IGN (@IGN) February 7, 2023
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