Rockstar Games will release Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition for iOS and Android via Netflix on December 14, the company announced.
09.11.2023 - 20:59 / pcgamer.com / Strauss Zelnick
Two of the biggest bits of videogame news to come along this week were Nintendo's announcement of a live-action Zelda movie, and Rockstar's promise of a proper Grand Theft Auto 6 reveal in December. That might naturally lead your wandering thoughts to wonder when Take-Two Interactive will get around to making the Grand Theft Auto-based Hollywood blockbuster that's such an obvious, almost obligatory, project.
I'm sorry to say that you probably don't want to hold your breath waiting: Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said during an investors call yesterday that the publisher isn't interested in chasing a big-screen GTA project because it's just not worth the effort.
If Take-Two financed a film or series itself, Zelnick explained, it would probably do pretty well on it financially as long as the show in question was a success—but the odds of that happening aren't great. "[Films and television are] very difficult businesses," Zelnick said. «I've been in them successfully. They're super challenging. They're not what we do. We'd much prefer the risk/reward profile of the business we're in.»
The alternative to that is licensing the Grand Theft Auto property to other people and taking a cut of whatever profits are generated from the films they make. But under those terms the payoff simply wouldn't be worth the bother, even if the film was a big hit.
To put it in context, he said Mattel's licensing profits on the Barbie movie, which he described as an «extraordinary hit,» are expected to be about $125 million. That's not nothing, but Zelnick said licensing fees Take-Two would earn on a GTA film would be «a fraction» of what it makes on its games (Take-Two reported net revenues of $1.3 billion in its most recent quarter, in case you were curious), and that's only if the film is a success—which, again, isn't likely.
«The hit ratios in the motion picture business are vastly lower than they are in the interactive entertainment business,» Zelnick said. «Our hit ratios for console properties are in the 80% or 90%. The hit ratio for a well-run movie studio is around 30%, which is to say there's a 70% chance that the movie that we license could fail.
»And so in success, the number, in terms of the benefit to our bottom line… it's not zero, but it's not really material to what we do around here. And in failure, we run the risk of compromising the underlying intellectual property."
That's the other potential downside of chasing film projects: If your movie tanks badly, it leaves an eau de flop around the entire property. It makes me think of the Max Payne film from 2008, which thankfully doesn't come up in conversation much anymore. Can we say that box office bomb is the reason the Max Payne series has been moribund for
Rockstar Games will release Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition for iOS and Android via Netflix on December 14, the company announced.
Although a reveal of is finally impending, the game is unlikely to actually arrive for a while yet, leaving a gap to fill for anyone ready for the launch. Finding alternatives to the experience can be difficult, as few games can boast the scope and variety of what the crime saga from Rockstar Games has to offer. Luckily, there's still a library of games that make for decent alternatives, with some being truly excellent experiences in their own right.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is setting out to be one of the most visually impressive games ever made by Rockstar Games, judging from a very early comparison shared online this week.
A former member of staff at Rockstar who worked on a raft of Grand Theft Auto games has pulled their behind-the-scenes development blog after someone from the studio got in touch.
From The Last of Us and God of War to Mario and The Legend of Zelda (to name just a few), there has been no shortage of major gaming properties that are being adapted as TV shows or movies. And at a time where it feels like it’s only a matter of time before most major gaming franchises get snapped up for similar adaptations, it’s only natural to wonder when we’ll be seeing a Grand Theft Auto film.
Rockstar Games is preparing to reveal the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 in early December (perhaps at The Game Awards on December 7th). Despite leaks and reports of scaling down, there’s plenty of hype for the open-world title, rumored to release in 2025. Publisher Take-Two Interactive isn’t setting expectations, though.
Take-Two has explained why a Grand Theft Auto film or TV show is seemingly unlikely to be announced anytime soon.
Strauss Zelnick, boss of GTA publisher Take-Two, has credited the company's «three-part strategy» as the reason it has managed to avoid mass layoffs this year.
Even if the current discussions between studios and video game actors results in a stike, Take-Two says GTA 6 is «completely protected.»
Take-Two saw a net loss of $543.6 million for the three months ending September 30th.
The torturously long wait for Grand Theft Auto 6 is entering is final stretch now. With Rockstar Games having officially confirmed that it will be debuting the first trailer for the title in early December, the end is finally in sight for those who have been waiting for the series’ next instalment for over a decade. But of course, a question that many are still asking is- when exactly will the game come out?
Take-Two Interactive revealed today that Grand Theft Auto V has now sold over 190 million units as of the end of September 2023. According to the company, that brings total lifetime sales of the franchise to 410 million units. It announced this number the same day as it officially confirmed the next game in the series, the trailer for which it plans to reveal next month.