GTA 6 Trailer Leak Was ‘Disappointing’ but Did Not Hurt the Team, Says Take-Two CEO: Report
GTA 6 Trailer Leak Was ‘Disappointing’
Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to release some time in 2025, with developer Rockstar Games announcing the much-awaited title via a trailer late last year. The GTA 6 trailer, which has 174 million views on YouTube at the time of writing, came out December 5, showing off shiny visuals, a dense and detailed Vice City, and a Tom Petty song that has since experienced a 37,000 percent increase in its Spotify streams. But hours before Rockstar was forced to actually put out the trailer, it leaked on the Internet. Now, the CEO of Rockstar owner Take-Two has said that the leak was “disappointing.”
GTA 6 Trailer Leak Was ‘Disappointing’ Ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings call Thursday, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told IGN that the GTA 6 trailer leak was “disappointing,” but it did not hurt the team at Rockstar and its parent company, according to him.
“In terms of the leak, that’s always disappointing for the team, but ultimately, I don’t think it hurt us,” Zelnick said. The Take-Two chief added that the team was gratified when the official trailer “broke the internet.”
Zelnick’s statement echoed his comments from February last year, when he addressed a separate leak that revealed in-development footage from GTA 6. At the time, Zelnick had claimed that the leak was an “emotional matter” rather than a business one. “We take leaks very seriously indeed and they disappoint all of us, it’s really frustrating and upsetting to the team,” he had said. “However, as a business matter we’re not affected. But as a personal matter and an emotional matter, our teams are affected.”
GTA 6’s development has been fraught with speculation and leaks, the biggest of which was a hack that released over 90 videos of in-development gameplay in September 2022, revealing the game’s two protagonists and its Vice City setting. GTA 6 Trailer Leak Was ‘Disappointing’ These details were finally confirmed when Rockstar released the GTA 6 trailer, featuring two playable characters — Lucia and her partner (presumed to be Jason) — and a Miami-inspired Leonida as the location of the game. Posting the official trailer on X, Rockstar had said, “Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube.”
Take-Two Interactive Software forecast fourth-quarter bookings below market expectations and cut its annual estimates on Thursday, on signs of weak demand for its gaming titles such as NBA 2K, sending its shares plunging 10 percent after the bell.
Lower consumer spending and stiff competition from players such as Electronic Arts and Microsoft-owned Activision Blizzard are hurting the video game publisher.
GTA 6 Trailer Leak Was ‘Disappointing’ Take-Two forecast fourth-quarter bookings in the range of $1.27 billion (roughly Rs. 10,542 crore) to $1.32 billion (roughly Rs. 10,957 crore), compared with analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion (roughly Rs. 12,534 crore), according to LSEG data.
It also cut its projection for full-year bookings to a range of $5.25 billion (roughly Rs. 43,578 crore) to $5.30 billion (roughly Rs. 43,993 crore) from its earlier forecast of $5.45 billion (roughly Rs. 45,239 crore) to $5.55 billion (roughly Rs. 46,069 crore).
“The forecast cut is almost entirely attributable to the shift of a game out of the fiscal year, so no real impact on the company’s long-term prospects”, said Wedbush securities analyst Michael Pachter.
But the company’s latest projection of “a little above $7 billion (roughly Rs. 58,105 crore) for net bookings” for fiscal 2025, after its last year’s downwardly revised forecast of under $8 billion (roughly Rs. 66,406 crore) dashed investors’ hopes.
They were expecting a boost from Take-Two’s Grand Theft Auto VI, the latest installment of the best-selling franchise that is set for a 2025 release.
“The reduction in outlook tells you it’s (Grand Theft Auto VI) not coming next fiscal year,” Pachter added.
Third-quarter hit
Take-Two’s net bookings fell 3 percent to $1.34 billion (roughly Rs. 11,122 crore) in the third quarter, in line with analysts’ estimates.
The solid performance of games such as GTA Online and the Red Dead Redemption series was partially offset by softness in mobile advertising and sales of NBA 2K, according to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 71 cents per share compared with estimates of 72 cents.
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