Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has addressed the use of Artificial Intelligence across the publisher’s studios, including Rockstar Games and the highly-anticipated GTA 6.
The use of AI tools in the video game industry is only becoming more prevalent, and while some try to fight it, others are plodding along without hesitation. The latest Call of Duty, for instance, features fully AI-generated player rewards.
With the release of Google’s Project Genie on January 29, 2026, for paying subscribers, this new AI tool allows for the creation of 3D worlds from text and images. Upon its debut, stock prices of countless game developers plummeted, including Take-Two with a 12% decline.
Despite the impact, however, Take-Two head honcho Strauss Zelnick remains excited by the evolution of AI and its use across the game development pipeline, stating he’s “energized” by the new tools. Though he quickly shut down the idea of GTA 6 leveraging any generative AI software.
Take-Two CEO is “really enthusiastic” about future of AI in game development
“This company was built on the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence,” Zelnick said in an interview with The Game Business.
“All video games are created almost entirely on computers, and we embrace technology.”
While it’s unclear how each of Take-Two’s studios, including the likes of 2K and GTA 6 developer Rockstar Games, utilizes AI, Zelnick clarified that there are “hundreds of AI pilots and implementations going on right now across our company. We’re really enthusiastic about what this new technology can mean.”
Zelnick assured he remains “optimistic about all things AI,” explaining that “innovation is one of our core tenets.
“AI is definitely driving efficiencies, and we think also can drive creativity. Because as tools get better, our teams can do cooler and cooler things.”
For perspective, Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees in one swift blow back in July 2025 as the company pivoted to an “AI transformation.”
Despite the widespread public backlash to AI use, Zelnick remains “more optimistic than ever. And [he] thought the [Google Project Genie] release was a great sign of things to come.”
Take-Two CEO shuts down generative AI use in GTA 6 development
“That said, do I think tools by themselves create great entertainment properties? No, there’s no evidence that’s the case and it won’t be the case in the future,” Zelnick said in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz.
“Specifically, with regards to GTA 6, generative AI has zero part in what Rockstar Games is building.”
“Their worlds are handcrafted,” Zelnick continued. “That’s what differentiates them. They’re built from the ground up, building by building, street by strees, neighborhood by neighborhood. They’re not procedurally generated, they shouldn’t be.”
So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. Although he’s eager to continue experimenting with AI tools across the portfolio of game dev studios, we can say for certain GTA 6 won’t feature any content generated by AI.
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