Speaking to MCV, Take Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has commented on the annualization of the Grand Theft Auto franchise following the record-breaking success of Grand Theft Auto V. “It is great that consumers anticipate our titles, like they anticipate the next James Bond film. Our goal is to create permanent franchises.”
In other words: No yearly Grand Theft Auto.
“A few years ago, we’d launch a title, it would be sold physically, then we would sell catalogue versions of it. Today we launch a title, and often – if not always – put out DLC. We’ve talked about recurrent consumer spending, where we have offerings where fans can engage and spend money on an on-going basis.”
As for GTA 5’s success, Zelnick said, “With GTA V, we have sold 32.5m units in to date, which is extraordinary. 70 per cent of people that have played GTA V while online have played GTA Online, which is a free-to-play experience. And recurrent consumer spending related to GTA Online represented nearly half of our digitally delivered revenue in the quarter. So people are voting that they want to stay engaged and they are voting with their wallets.”
GTA Online is currently in the midst of receiving updates to it content creator, along with cooperative heists.