Switch 2’s Backward Compatibility is “Good for Our Catalogue” – Take-Two CEO

"Backward compatibility is good for our catalogue, and we think we have the highest selling catalogue per SKU in the business," Strauss Zelnick says.

Take-Two Interactive has been one of the Nintendo Switch’s biggest third-party supporters, with the likes of Civilization, XCOM, Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands, and others having enjoyed success on Nintendo’s platform. Presumably, we’ll be seeing improved third-party support for the Switch’s successor across the entire industry, and Take-Two, it seems, will continue to contribute to that.

Speaking to GamesIndustry, when asked about the Switch 2, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick’s response was a brief one, but one that indicated plenty of confidence in whatever Nintendo’s next console turns out to be. “I never count Nintendo out,” he said.

Zelnick was also asked about the Switch 2’s confirmed support for backward compatibility, and about whether new releases having to compete with older titles on yet another platform is going to be an issue- to which his response was that backward compatibility is ultimately a good thing for the company’s catalogue as a whole, especially with Take-Two’s labels enjoying the consistently strong sales that they tend to.

“You’re always competing with everything, and you’re competing with yourself,” he said. “Also, backward compatibility is good for our catalogue, and we think we have the highest selling catalogue per SKU in the business.”

With Civilization 7, Borderlands 4, Mafia: The Old Country, and Grand Theft Auto 6, Take-Two Interactive has a busy release schedule planned for 2025 across its multiple labels. It should be interesting to see whether any of those games wind up on the Switch successor as well. Civilization 7, at least, is releasing for the Switch itself, so we know it will be playable on the next console, too.

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