Strauss Zelnick Says He Asked for WWE 2K26’s Cameo and Confirmed He Won’t Appear in GTA 6

Back in early June, an unusual character showed up in WWE 2K26: Strauss Zelnick, head of Take-Two Interactive. He got his own entrance theme (Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’) and can be played either as a controllable character or picked as an opponent, meaning players can knock him around and pull off all the wildest moves. Turns out this odd collaboration was actually his idea.

In a recent interview with IGN, Zelnick admitted he personally asked WWE 2K26 developer Visual Concepts to add him as a playable character, purely to give players a fun surprise. You can check out more from Zelnick on this below:

“How it came about? I asked. I wish I could say that there was huge popular demand internally and externally, but that would be a lie. I asked, and then I went on the soundstage, and I did motion capture, and we all had fun with it. But no, this was a rare moment where I said, ‘I think this would be fun. Let’s do this.’ And everyone’s like, ‘Okay.’

I love the title, and I loved WWE, and I thought it would be funny for insiders and maybe fun for some consumers.”

IGN didn't waste the opportunity, asking Zelnick whether fans might see a cameo from him in GTA 6, Rockstar and Take-Two's next big project. However, he confirmed that's not happening.

As for Grand Theft Auto VI, the game’s next reveal is set for August 27 on Netflix. Zelnick previously claimed pretty much everyone should sign up for a subscription to be among the first to see new GTA 6 footage, and also teased at even bigger presentations for the game down the line.