Take-Two Boss Says It's 'Shown a Willingness to Support Legacy Titles' Amid Questions About the Future of GTA Online Post-GTA 6

As the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 looms closer with a confirmed fall 2025 launch date, many avid players of GTA Online are left wondering about the future of their beloved game. GTA Online, Rockstar’s highly lucrative live service, continues to attract a dedicated player base even over a decade after its initial launch. The game's ongoing success and profitability have notably influenced Rockstar's focus on live services over story-driven DLCs for Grand Theft Auto 5, a decision that has not sat well with all fans. However, the bigger concern for many is what will happen to their current investments in GTA Online once GTA 6 hits the market.

With GTA 6 expected to introduce an enhanced version of GTA Online—potentially titled GTA Online 2—players are anxious about whether their time, effort, and money spent in the current GTA Online will be rendered obsolete. This looming uncertainty raises a pertinent question: is it wise to continue investing in GTA Online in early 2025, with the new iteration possibly launching just eight months later? This concern was recently addressed by Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, during an interview ahead of the company's third-quarter financial report.

While Zelnick did not provide specifics about any new GTA Online due to the lack of an official announcement, he offered insights into Take-Two's approach with NBA 2K Online. Launched in 2012, NBA 2K Online was followed by NBA 2K Online 2 in 2017, yet both versions continued to be supported and remain active in the market. This strategy allowed fans of the original to keep playing and investing without fear of being left behind.

"I'm going to speak theoretically only because I'm not going to talk about a particular project when an announcement hasn't been made," Zelnick stated. "But generally speaking, we support our properties when the consumers are involved with those titles. As an example, we launched NBA 2K Online in China, I think originally in 2012 if I'm not mistaken. And then we launched NBA 2K Online 2 in China in 2017. If I'm not mistaken. We did not sunset Online 1. They both are still in the market and they serve consumers and they're alive and we have this massive audience.

"So we've shown a willingness to support legacy titles when a community wants to be engaged with them."

This statement hints that if a GTA Online 2 is released, it might not mean the end for the original GTA Online. Zelnick’s comments suggest that as long as there is an active player base, Rockstar will continue to support the existing game.

Given that much about GTA 6 remains undisclosed beyond the first trailer and a release window, more details are expected to be revealed soon, especially with Borderlands 4 set to launch in September 2025. In the meantime, players can find Zelnick's thoughts on whether skipping a PC launch for GTA 6 would be a mistake enlightening.