Take-Two's Zelnick: Streaming Could Reduce Reliance on Costly Consoles

According to GameSpot, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed the rising cost of gaming hardware during a recent investor briefing on the company's financial quarter. Despite PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles being pricier now than at their 2020 launch, Zelnick said he doesn't expect that to hurt sales of upcoming titles like GTA 6, arguing that Take-Two's games deliver experiences players want regardless of hardware cost.

Still, Zelnick acknowledged that cheaper hardware would benefit the industry by putting more devices into consumers' hands. He pointed to the continued shift toward "open systems" as evidence of this trend, noting that PC gaming has grown from roughly 2% of sales twenty years ago to as much as 50% today—a gap he expects will keep widening.

Per the GameSpot report, Zelnick was especially bullish on cloud streaming as a way to expand the potential audience for games. He told investors he believes Take-Two will reach "commercial streaming mode"—meaning low-latency service—within the next three years. He suggested this could effectively multiply the installed base of potential players by as much as tenfold, though he was careful to note this wouldn't necessarily translate into a proportional revenue increase, since dedicated gamers already own the hardware they need.

The GameSpot piece also notes that while cloud gaming has had rocky attempts in the past, such as Google Stadia's shutdown, the underlying technology has continued to mature, with Microsoft cited as making notable progress in the space. The article adds that anyone still holding off on a console purchase for GTA 6 may want to act soon, as prices are reportedly expected to rise again next year, and RAM manufacturers have apparently already sold out their 2027 production, creating potential headaches for PC gamers as well.