Take-Two CEO Affirms Support for Legacy Games Amid GTA Online's Future Uncertainty

The burning question on many GTA Online players' minds as the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 approaches in fall 2025 is what will happen to their beloved game. GTA Online, Rockstar's highly lucrative live service, continues to attract players even a decade after its launch. Its ongoing success and profitability have led Rockstar to prioritize this live service over story DLC for Grand Theft Auto 5, much to the chagrin of some fans. However, the looming release of GTA 6 raises concerns about the future of the current GTA Online.

With GTA 6 on the horizon, it's anticipated that a new and enhanced version of GTA Online will be introduced. Whether it's called GTA Online 2 or retains the original name, players are worried about the fate of their investments in the current version. Will all their time, effort, and money be for naught when the new game launches? This concern becomes particularly relevant in early 2025, as players ponder whether to continue investing in GTA Online with GTA 6's release only months away.

In a recent interview with IGN, Take-Two's CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed this issue. While he couldn't comment specifically on a new GTA Online due to the lack of an official announcement, Zelnick spoke generally about Take-Two's approach using the example of NBA 2K Online. Launched in 2012, NBA 2K Online was followed by NBA 2K Online 2 in 2017. Both versions continued to be supported simultaneously, ensuring that fans of the original could keep playing without feeling abandoned.

Zelnick stated, "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. 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 there is a GTA Online 2, it might not mean the end for the original GTA Online. If the community continues to engage with the current game, Rockstar may continue to support it. However, with so much still unknown about GTA 6, including only having seen Trailer 1 and a release window, more details are expected to emerge soon. GTA 6's release in fall 2025, potentially following Borderlands 4's September launch, means Rockstar will need to provide more information in the near future. Meanwhile, you can read Zelnick's thoughts on whether skipping a PC launch for GTA 6 is a mistake.