Amid an industry with extensive layoffs, including Activision-Blizzard post-acquisition by Microsoft, publisher Take-Two Interactive is looking to avoid the same. Following an earnings call for its recent fiscal report, CEO Strauss Zelnick told Variety, “We have no current plans for layoffs.
“Our biggest line item expense was marketing, so we do have the opportunity to optimize many expenses that don’t involve our headcount: marketing and third party expenses, vendor charges, and the like, can still be optimized. We’re a big company, so we have always prided ourselves on being the most efficient company in the entertainment business.”
Take-Two also revised its net bookings forecast for the remainder of the fiscal year ending March 31st, 2024, to around $5.25 to $5.3 billion (down from $5.45 to $5.55 billion). It’s “currently working on a significant cost reduction program across our entire business to maximize our margins while still investing for growth,” per a recent letter to shareholders.
Extensive losses for the publisher are nothing new – full results for fiscal year 2023 showcase a significant increase in revenue following its acquisition of Zynga. Unfortunately, net losses amounted to $1.12 billion. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023 alone, it generated $610 million in net losses (compared to a net income of $111 million the previous year).
Nevertheless, it has high expectations for the future, especially with Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 6 out in 2025 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. Regarding specific date, Zelnick says it’s “seeking creative perfection” and “when we feel we’ve optimized creatively, that’s the time to release.”