Take-TwoCEO Strauss Zelnick has provided a rather tempered and level-headed take on the future of game development, now that the prevalence of AI-based tools has become too hard to ignore. As an AAA game publisher, Take-Two controls a wide variety of hugely successful franchises, one of the most notable of which is certainly the legendary trendsetting franchise,Grand Theft Auto.
ConsideringTake-Two Interactive’s importance in the industry at large, it’s no big surprise that there are many eyes looking at what Strauss Zelnick thinks about emerging technologies. With AI-based tech such as ChatGPT rising in popularity, the notion that major companies may end up relying on machine learning tools for various tasks isn’t a big stretch, though Zelnick does maintain a somewhat skeptical approach.
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As part of a recent Take-Two Interactive investor call, Strauss Zelnick was asked what he thought about the latest advances in machine learning and AI technologies, the progress of which was best illustrated not long ago, when aUS politician used ChatGPT to write his speech. Zelnick responded by saying that Take-Two’s game development studios should not be concerned about getting replaced by a bot that could develop video games all on its own, claiming that “people will try [to have AI make games], but that won’t happen.”
Instead, Zelnick believes that machine learning implementations such as the aforementionedChatGPT text processor AIare the way forward. “We are ushering in a very exciting era of new tools,” he said, explaining that AI-based assistants would allow game developers to be more efficient and creative in what they do. According to him, machine learning is about to “raise the bar” for game development as a whole, and creativity will be the crux of it all.
Broadly speaking, Zelnick seems careful not to overhype anything just yet. Withrumors ofGTA 6coming out in 2024, it’s likely that Take-Two’s next big mainstream blockbuster isn’t going to have used any AI-based tools in a meaningful capacity. Yet, considering the CEO’s openness to such an approach to game development, it seems all but given that machine learning will end up being leveraged in Take-Two projects sooner, rather than later.
Zelnick has never been afraid of stating his opinions in the past. Namely, theTake-Two CEO praised Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, which sits in stark contrast with most other authoritative figures, who have either said nothing or, in Sony’s case, directed critique at the situation. Whether his comments were just investor fluff or a sign of things to come in the AAA gaming industry, of course, remains to be seen.
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