Amid investor questions about Grand Theft Auto VI and AI, Take-Two CEO once again expressed confidence in developer creativity, saying hit games remain the work of human beings.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick Uses 2027 Second-Quarter Earnings Call to Explain Why AI Piracy Is Manageable and Why GTA 6 Still Depends on Human Hitmaking

Background: A Publisher Meets an AI-Driven Piracy Question

During Take-Two Interactive Software’s Q2 2027 earnings call, CEO Strauss Zelnick presented the company’s financial results and then took questions from investors. One caller focused on AI, but the concern was not about game development. The investor raised the proliferation of AI-powered compilations and decompilations, which had been raising piracy concerns for publishers over the past few weeks.

The question arrived at a sensitive time for Take-Two. The publisher’s biggest upcoming release is Grand Theft Auto 6, and any new technology that could make large game files easier to assemble, unpack, or distribute would naturally attract investor attention. For a company whose future performance is closely tied to that title, the issue was not simply abstract. It touched the commercial environment surrounding one of the industry’s most anticipated launches.

Zelnick answered by first separating AI piracy from the broader history of piracy in games. He said the video games business has been largely immune to piracy, pointing to factors such as file size, how console ecosystems work, and aspects related to the online nature of the games industry. Those features can reduce the practical damage of casual copying, especially when large games require installation, verification, updates, or online infrastructure.

That said, he did not treat AI as a non-issue. Zelnick acknowledged that there is a threat posed to the industry because of AI. He reassured listening investors that Take-Two is appropriately scaling its measures against bad faith actors using artificial intelligence. The company’s position was not that piracy had vanished. It was that the risk was being addressed with proportionate action.

Development: Zelnick Separates AI as a Threat from AI as a Production Tool

Zelnick’s full response made that balance clearer. He said Take-Two is utterly focused on enhancing technical defences and enhancing legal activities appropriately. At the same time, he said he was not being cavalier. Every entertainment business that exists is subject to some element of piracy, and this issue is likely to invade the games business to a greater or lesser extent. His conclusion was that he thinks it will be manageable and that the company is focused on it.

That framing placed AI piracy inside a wider entertainment industry context. The claim was not that games have never been pirated. The claim was that the sector’s structure has historically limited the damage, while AI tools now require updated defenses. By pairing technical and legal measures, Zelnick signaled that Take-Two was treating the issue as a risk-management problem rather than a panic response.

Later in the same call, Zelnick pivoted back to AI, but the investor question changed direction. One investor once again asked about AI, seemingly keen to learn whether the CEO feels it can provide GTA 6 developer Rockstar with any kind of competitive advantage in the games industry. This was no longer a question about copying files. It was a question about whether AI could change who wins in game development.

Given Zelnick’s previous comments on the subject, his answer was not a complete surprise. He said it has always been true that technology benefits the company. He noted that Take-Two has always created entertainment inside computers with technology, and that all advances have benefited it. He added that he does not expect that to change, and in fact hopes it will accelerate.

The key distinction came next. Zelnick said Take-Two is known for the desire to make the best entertainment on Earth. He said more often than not the company has succeeded, and that the creativity driving that success is human creativity harnessing technology. He also said that is what people will see in the future.

He then acknowledged that some of the most recent technological advances have made it easier to create assets. He said that is consistent with the story of the business. When he started in interactive entertainment, longer ago than he would like to say, creating an asset in a computer was really difficult. Today, it is a whole lot easier. But, he said, making a big hit is not easier. It was hard then, it is hard now, and it will be hard in the future. His final point was direct: hit creation remains the purview of human beings.

This part of the call showed why Zelnick’s AI skepticism is not anti-technology. It is anti-hype. He accepted that tools make some work easier, while rejecting the idea that tools automatically replace the judgment, taste, and coordination needed to produce a successful entertainment product. The argument also connected to the piracy question. If AI can help bad faith actors copy or assemble content, it can also help legitimate teams produce parts of games faster. Zelnick’s position was that Take-Two would manage the downside while continuing to use the upside.

Latest: Rockstar’s GTA 6 Tracking, Pre-Orders, and a New Baseline

Beyond AI, the call returned to Grand Theft Auto 6’s commercial position. Zelnick reiterated how well GTA 6 is tracking. The most concrete indicator he mentioned was pre-order numbers, which he said are well above expectations. That statement placed the game in a strong demand posture, though it did not provide exact figures.

The expectation around GTA 6 is not limited to one release. Zelnick said the success of the game will set a new baseline for Take-Two’s gaming business. That wording suggests management views the title as a threshold for future performance, not merely as a single product launch. A successful GTA 6 would raise what investors and the company regard as normal for the gaming division going forward.

The March moment provided additional context. This was not the first instance of AI skepticism from Strauss Zelnick. Back in March, he outright rejected the idea that AI can tackle games on the scale of GTA 6. That earlier statement helps explain why his later answer on the call avoided a simple yes to the question about competitive advantage. He had already signaled that AI could assist, but not independently handle a project of that size and ambition.

Read together, the comments form a consistent timeline. First, AI piracy concerns appeared as a near-term industry anxiety. Then Zelnick addressed them as manageable but real. Later, he answered a broader AI question by separating asset creation from hit creation. Finally, the company returned to GTA 6 itself, emphasizing strong pre-order tracking and the game’s role as a future baseline.

Current Phase: A Manageable AI Concern Around a Human-Led Release

Take-Two’s position in this stage is neither alarm nor dismissal. The company has acknowledged that AI-powered copying and assembly could create new piracy pressure, especially after concerns had circulated for weeks. It has also said its response is scaling across technical defenses and legal activity. At the same time, it has kept GTA 6’s commercial momentum separate from the AI debate, while using that debate to explain why the title’s value still depends on human creativity.

The practical message is that AI is being treated as both a risk and a tool. It can help bad faith actors, but it does not automatically replace the hard work of making a hit. For Take-Two, the next phase is defined by a manageable piracy concern, a high-pre-order GTA 6 launch posture, and a statement that Rockstar’s scale remains a human achievement rather than an automated one.