'We're actively embracing generative AI,' Take-Two boss says, after previously expressing skepticism: 'We have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company'

Strauss Zelnick, chairman and chief executive officer of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., during an Economic Club of New York event in New York, US, on Monday, June 17, 2024. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. develops, markets, distributes, and publishes interactive entertainment software games and accessories. Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(Image credit: Getty Images)

There was a spot of consternation over Google's new AI-powered world builder Project Genie earlier this week: In the immediate wake of the software's announcement, the share prices of a handful of companies, including game engine maker Unity and Grand Theft Auto 6 publisher Take-Two Interactive, took a notable tumble. During today's investors call following its Q3 financial report, however, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said he's not sweating it, and he's a little confused about why anyone else is.

"The videogame business, since its inception, was built on the back of machine learning and artificial intelligence," Zelnick said during today's call. "We create our games in computers, with technology, and ever since questions began about generative AI about 18 months ago, I've been incredibly enthusiastic about what the future can bring.

"As it happens now, we're actively embracing generative AI. We have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company, including with our studios, and we are seeing opportunities to drive efficiencies, reduce costs, and create the opportunity to do what digital technology has always allowed, which is, mundane tasks become easier and less relevant, which frees up our creators to do the more interesting tasks of making superb entertainment."

It's not clear exactly what Zelnick means that the videogame business was built on machine learning since its inception—machine learning has been a research subject for a long time but I don't think anyone considers neural networks to be the foundation of game development—but his point seems to be that videogames have always chased the cutting edge of computing tech.

Zelnick has previously been a relative skeptic about the capabilities of AI. He's equated generative AI to extant digital tools in the past, and has been vocal about what he perceives are its limitations: In October 2025, for instance, he said AI seems so extraordinary now because it's "a combination of metadata with a parlor trick," and prior to that he declared that he's not worried about AI creating hit videogames "because it’s built on data that already exists. It’s backward-looking. Big hits are forward-looking and therefore need to be created out of thin air." He also pointed out in February 2025 that, very simply, "there's no such thing" as artificial intelligence.

There's still an aspect of that doubt in the way Zelnick leans into 'AI as a creator's tool' in these most recent comments, rather than, say, predicting a future where billions of people are vibe-coding games, or... whatever. But the explicit suggestion that generative AI can fundamentally improve the work of human artists and game developers, rather than simply making flowcharts less messy, lands as notably more enthusiastic about the technology than I've seen in the past.

"There are so many more elements to game development that go beyond, quote, 'world creation' ... Even beyond world creation, there's everything else that's involved. There's the storyline, there's emotional connection, there's vibe, there's mission structure—all of those things, you cannot capture through AI, and certainly not through a world builder. So that's just a very, very small component of what we do, and if this tool bears out, it will make a component of what we do all that much better and more efficient."

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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