Take-Two CEO admits historic GTA 6 leaks affected devs ’emotionally and personally’

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick just commented on the historic leaks GTA 6 leaks from 2022, saying it was ‘an emotional matter’ for the developers having their work spill out early.

Talking to IGN before Take-Two’s latest earnings release, CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked about last year’s massive leaks of GTA 6. The historic leaks showcased early gameplay, revealing new protagonists, combat systems, and potentially even spilling the beans on where GTA 6 will be set. Footage immediately went viral as Rockstar was involved in one of the biggest leaks the gaming industry has ever seen.

In his latest comments, Zelnick said it was a very disappointing situation despite the leaks not impacting Take-Two’s earnings one bit.

“We take leaks very seriously indeed and they disappoint all of us, it’s really frustrating and upsetting to the team,” Zelnick said. “However as a business matter, we’re not affected.” 

He also said the leaks were a personal and emotional matter for the teams that are working on the game currently.

This isn’t the first time Rockstar, the developers of GTA and owned by Take-Two, have expressed their disappointment in the leaks. Saying in an earlier tweet last September they were disappointed that details of the highly anticipated game were revealed through unintended leaks. 

Last year’s leak of GTA 6 was revealed due to an unauthorized intrusion by a hacker into the developer’s servers, and it revealed early game development footage of the game. It was subsequently posted on the GTA Forums. 

Today’s new earnings release did not reveal any fresh information on GTA 6, but it pointed to potential layoffs due to Take-Two falling short of its financial targets. They said the company will be undergoing cost-cutting measures in the near future. 

Meanwhile, GTA 5 has surpassed 175 million copies sold, with roughly another five million last quarter. It still holds the title of the second best-selling game of all time.