Key Takeaways
- Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick described piracy as an ongoing concern ahead of GTA 6’s release.
- Zelnick believes large game files and software complexity make modern games harder to pirate.
- He compared piracy in gaming with figures from the movie and music industries.
- Take-Two is prepared to use legal and technical measures if piracy becomes a serious problem.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to attract significant attention when it launches, but Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick says piracy remains a concern for major game releases. Speaking at the WSJ Tech: California conference, Zelnick described piracy as a fact of life across the entertainment industry, while arguing that modern games are less vulnerable to it than movies or music.
He pointed to the size and complexity of current games as factors that make unauthorized copies more difficult to distribute and run. However, he did not dismiss the possibility of piracy affecting GTA 6 or other Take-Two releases. Zelnick said the company is prepared to respond through legal action and technical measures if the problem becomes more serious.
Strauss Zelnick Says Piracy Remains A Concern For Major Game Releases
Zelnick discussed piracy across different entertainment industries and explained why he believes video games face a different set of challenges. Rather than describing piracy as something that can be eliminated, he called it a regular part of the business.
Zelnick drew on his previous experience in the movie and music industries to explain his assessment. He said that during his time in the movie business, piracy was estimated to account for around 10% to 20% of the market at a given time. He also referred to the music industry, arguing that approximately 80% of the market was pirated by the mid-2000s.
According to him, that figure has since fallen considerably. These figures were part of Zelnick’s comparison between the entertainment industries and should be understood as his estimates rather than current measurements of piracy. His comments suggest that Take-Two does not view piracy as a problem unique to video games. However, he believes the way games are developed and distributed makes unauthorized copies more difficult to use compared with pirated movies or music.
Zelnick also acknowledged that piracy has not disappeared from interactive entertainment. He said companies still need to remain aware of the risks and respond when unauthorized distribution becomes a problem. His remarks were also not limited to GTA 6 specifically. He discussed piracy as a broader issue for Take-Two’s games, making it important to distinguish his general comments about the company’s approach from any confirmed plans for Rockstar’s upcoming release.
Large Game Files And Online Requirements Could Make GTA 6 Piracy More Difficult
One of the main reasons Zelnick believes piracy is less of a problem for modern games is the technical work required to copy and run them. He pointed to larger file sizes and the complexity of interactive entertainment as factors that can make unauthorized distribution more difficult. Zelnick specifically mentioned server connectivity as another consideration.
He explained that players need to connect to Take-Two’s servers to get a good experience with its games. This creates another obstacle for people attempting to distribute pirated versions, as they would potentially need to establish their own competing servers to provide similar functionality.
He questioned whether unauthorized versions could offer the same experience without access to the company’s infrastructure. However, he acknowledged that this does not remove the piracy risk entirely. Zelnick did not suggest that server connectivity would make piracy impossible. The size of GTA 6’s download also provides some context to his comments. Rockstar has confirmed that the game’s digital preload will require up to 212GB of storage, depending on the platform. Zelnick also outlined how Take-Two would respond if piracy became a more serious issue. According to his comments, the company would rely on legal action alongside technical measures to address unauthorized distribution.
