Strauss Zelnick Shared Updates on Bioshock 4, New IPs, and “Legacy Franchises”

The release of GTA 6, scheduled for next week, is a significant event not only for Rockstar Games and gamers worldwide but also for Take-Two Interactive, the developer’s parent company. Primarily, of course, it concerns the profits that such a highly anticipated title could generate. However, in a recent interview, Take-Two's CEO Strauss Zelnick also discussed other projects currently in development.

Following the release of Take-Two’s new financial report, Strauss Zelnick gave an extensive interview to GamesIndustry.biz. While much of the discussion focused on GTA 6, other projects were also addressed. For instance, the new BioShock installment, first announced back in 2019, has since encountered a number of challenges. Zelnick confirmed that active development on the game continues with Cloud Chamber serving as the developer. Additionally, he revealed that both new IPs and "legacy franchises"—likely remakes or remasters—are currently in development. You can check out more detailed comments from Zelnick below:

“BioShock 4 still in development. We feel very good about how it's going.We definitely did face some development challenges. We feel like we're on the right track now, but you're correct, we did face some challenges along the way.

We're always looking for new IP. We selectively invest in new IP. New IP is the riskiest part of our business, but we only have the company we have today because we've been willing to invest in new IP over the years.

We are working on some legacy franchises that we're excited about. And you're right, we own a bunch of IP that we have not exploited in recent years, and it's always possible that we will. It's on our to-do list.”

Strauss Zelnick has previously expressed his frustration over BioShock 4, mainly due to its prolonged development period. This delay has also affected fans' enthusiasm, making the anticipation for the project seem to fade day by day. That said, some gamers have been intrigued by the Take-Two CEO’s comments about "legacy franchises." Primarily, there’s strong interest in seeing remastered versions of Rockstar titles, such as Bully or Max Payne 3. However, for now, these ideas remain purely speculative and are based on rumors.

As for GTA 6, Rockstar Games released a new trailer yesterday to coincide with the start of pre-loading. The game has also broken pre-order records on both PS5 and Xbox. According to Sensor Tower, it has sold 9.69 million copies, generating $942 million in revenue—even before the game has officially launched.