The CEO behind Grand Theft Auto VI doesn’t play video games, but is staking $1.5 billion on the biggest game launch of the decade | Fortune

After 15 years churning out hit titles like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and NBA2k, this CEO knows what makes a hit—even if he doesn’t play video games himself. 

Strauss Zelnick, a Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School graduate, has been CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software since 2011. During that time, he has helped skyrocket the company’s stock price by more than 1,600% from about $12 per share when he took charge to nearly $240 per share. He has also quintupled the company’s net revenue during his tenure, with 2025’s full-year number coming in at $5.6 billion compared with less than $1 billion before he took over.

He has been massively successful at the game publisher despite the fact he doesn’t play video games. He may watch others play, but he doesn’t think it’s necessary that he be the one holding the controller, he recently told Business Insider.

“I don’t think being consumer-in-chief really helps a CEO be effective in this business,” he said.

For the leader of a company selling a vice-laden game, Zelnick’s habits are tame. The Take-Two CEO doesn’t drink, smoke, and works out nearly every day, and sometimes twice a day, Business Insider reported. 

Now, Zelnick is preparing for potentially the biggest game launch of the decade as Take-Two prepares to release Grand Theft Auto VI this fall amid increasing competition and economic uncertainty. 

He has already run into some controversy ahead of the launch. Take-Two announced last week that the new edition of the Grand Theft Auto franchise will start at $80 and will not include a physical copy, which has some gamers questioning whether the game will be truly theirs.

While the video game market stood at a whopping $219 billion in 2024, the competition in games has exploded over the past decade or so, with 19,000 games being released in 2023 for consoles and PCs, compared with just under 2,000 in 2014, according to data from consulting firm Bain & Co. The Iran war, which recently saw both sides reach an uneasy truce, has also upended the global economy, with many countries facing a strain on oil supply and negative economic effects, which could affect leisure purchases like video games.

Still, expectations for Grand Theft Auto VI are high after the success of the series’ previous installment, Grand Theft Auto V. In 2013, GTA V racked up $1 billion worth of sales in three days, the fastest any entertainment release has ever reached that milestone, according to the company. Over the past 10 years, the game has persisted as the bestselling title in the U.S. based on both unit and dollar sales, and has sold more than 215 million units, according to Take-Two.

The approximate cost of developing the highly anticipated game is between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, Business Insider estimated, citing industry analysts. Take-Two declined to comment or confirm a dollar amount for the development of GTA VI to Fortune. 

While Zelnick would only say that the development of GTA VI “was expensive,” the pay off may be huge. 

Anticipation among gamers is high as GTA VI’s release has been delayed several times. It was originally scheduled to launch in the fall of 2025, and then in May 2026. It is now set to release on Nov. 19. 

Zelnick said these delays are sometimes part of the game development process. Unlike others in the industry, Rockstar Games, the wholly owned subsidiary of Take-Two that is developing GTA VI, doesn’t participate in “crunch,” which in game development means long shifts and intense work to meet a deadline. The company’s focus is first and foremost on making a quality game, Zelnick said.

“It’s sort of like when I was in college. I never pulled an all-nighter because I was good about doing my homework,” Zelnick told BI. “You do your homework, you don’t pull an all-nighter.”

A version of this story originally appeared on Fortune.com on May 6, 2026.

Role: Reporter
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez is a reporter for Fortune covering general business news.