Don’t expect Grand Theft Auto 6 to launch on Xbox Game Pass

If you were hoping Grand Theft Auto 6 would launch day one on Xbox Game Pass, you’re out of luck. Take-Two Interactive execs have been hesitant to launch the company’s games on subscription services on Xbox Game Pass, and that will continue to be the case, according to the CEO’s recent comments.

In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz ahead of the company’s latest financial report, CEO Strauss Zelnick candidly said that while he believes the addition of the Call of Duty franchise will push players to the service for a bit, it won’t affect Take-Two’s release strategy.

“I think that offering a frontline title with a premium price in a subscription service, day and date, will push consumers to that subscription service for at least a period of time,” he said. Zenick continued, “No, it won’t affect our decisions … Because our decisions are rational.”

Take-Two has released some of its legacy titles on Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, but it’s avoided day one launches, and will likely continue to do so. Zelnick has gone on the record saying that subscriptions are good for older titles, but aren’t for players in the same way they are for streaming services. You can consume hundreds of hours of movies or TV in a month, but you can’t do the same for video games. Still, he asserts the company will go where the players are.

Going even further back, Take-Two President Karl Slatoff said in 2020 that “we’re highly skeptical that subscriptions will be the only way or the primary way that interactive entertainment is distributed.”

Overall, the company’s financials were uneventful this quarter. Its net bookings and net revenue grew slightly thanks to games like NBA 2K24, mobile titles, and the longevity of Grand Theft Auto 5, GTA Online, and Red Dead Redemption 2 (which has been the case for years now). Take-Two is coasting along right now with smaller releases until Grand Theft Auto 6, which is still set for a fall 2025 launch, likely becomes one of the biggest video game