As Nintendo gets ready for the June 5 launch of the Switch 2, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has revealed that he has “great optimism” about the new console, and Take-Two’s relationship with Nintendo as a third-party game publisher for the console. In a recent Q&A with investors (as caught by IGN), Zelnick commented on how Nintendo is supporting third-party publishers, saying that it is an improvement over how the company has traditionally done so.
“We’re launching four titles with Nintendo Switch 2, and that’s I think a bigger array of releases than we’ve ever offered before with a new Nintendo platform,” said Zelnick. “Historically, being a third party in the Nintendo business has been a bit challenging. I think Nintendo has been very forthcoming in addressing that. And we’re stepping up too, because we have great optimism for the platform.”
He also spoke about how Take-Two will be supporting the console with its own games, while also maintaining that the publisher might not bring every one of its titles to the Switch 2. Rather, the company plans to look at it on a game-by-game basis.
“In terms of what we would bring to any platform, we address it on a case-by-case basis, we obviously want to be where the consumers are,” he continued. “But we would not necessarily bring every title to every platform. There are also great catalog opportunities as well.”
Some of the games that Take-Two Interactive has confirmed will be coming to the Switch 2 include Civilization 7, Borderlands 4, and games in the NBA 2K and WWE 2K franchises. While Civilization 7 will be a launch-day title for the console, Borderlands 4 will be available on the system alongside its release on other platforms on September 12. However, neither of the confirmed sports games have Switch 2 release dates so far. There is also no confirmation about whether Take-Two’s biggest upcoming game – Grand Theft Auto 6 – might make its way on to Nintendo’s console.
While GTA 6 got delayed to May 26, 2026, industry analysis firm DFC Intelligence has referred to the Switch 2 launch as being the most important console launch ever. This comes down to the fact that there is a vacuum left behind for the rest of the year in the wake of GTA 6’s delay into 2026, which is also expected to impact console hardware sales for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Nintendo, for its part, had revealed during its recent earnings call that it expects to sell 15 million units of the Switch 2 over the fiscal year. While in line with the company’s expectations of the original Switch from back in 2017, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa also clarified that its relatively modest sales forecast stems from the fact that the new console is priced higher than its predecessor was.
“Since the Switch 2 is priced higher than the original Switch, we recognize that there will be considerable hurdles in achieving the console’s widespread adoption in the early stages,” he said.
