After talking about the how Red Dead Redemption 2’s online offerings excite him during an earnings call, Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed concerns about it possibly competing with Grand Theft Auto Online. Given how the latter has been a huge source of revenue for the publisher, it’s perfectly valid to ask how a strong competitor from the same developer will impact that.
Zelnick responded by saying, “I’m fond of saying entertainment is an unusual animal. And that entertainment properties don’t really compete with other entertainment properties and that you never need entertainment/
“Entertainment is something that you want to have, but it’s not a need to have. If nothing in the market appeals to you at some time, there’s no reason to go and get it. And if multiple things appeal to you, avid consumers will consume all of those things.
“So, I don’t think there’s any competitive dynamic with any of our upcoming releases apart from the fact that our success is driven by quality. So, I think, the success of Red Dead, which is highly anticipated, will be driven by its quality. And I think the ongoing success of Grand Theft Auto Online is driven by its extraordinary quality.”
Again, we’ll see how that pans out and whether GTA Online players are willing to devote just as much time to Red Dead Redemption 2‘s multiplayer in the future.