Take-Two Interactive is not looking to sell itself to Netflix or to anyone else, chief executive Strauss Zelnick said in a CNBC appearance, GameSpot reports. Asked whether the publisher's partnership with Netflix to carry the next Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer might be an opening move toward a buyout, Zelnick said it was not.
He framed the arrangement as an extension of an existing commercial relationship rather than a strategic one, noting that Take-Two has already made a number of deals with Netflix to distribute games through Netflix Games. Some Grand Theft Auto titles have since been pulled from that library, though subscribers can still play Red Dead Redemption there.
I think we're very proud of the way we've built this company independently and we're now the largest pure-play that's public in the space worldwide. We expect to have over $8 billion in revenue this year. We generate profits year in, year out. I don't mean to imply that's easy or even predictable. We have to get up every morning and do it. But I think if anyone deserves to be an independent company, we do.
Take-Two trades above $250 a share with a market capitalisation north of $47 billion. It is now one of the few large publishers still both independent and publicly listed, after Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the recent closing of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund deal for Electronic Arts took two of its peers private.
On whether Netflix might accelerate its games ambitions with a large acquisition, Zelnick deferred to Netflix co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, and pointed out that the streamer has historically preferred organic growth to big purchases. Its announced buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery collapsed after Paramount came in with more cash and better terms. In games, Netflix has bought smaller studios including Night School Studio, Next Games, Boss Fight and Spry Fox, and it reversed an earlier push into AAA development, and the senior hires that came with it, in favour of smaller-scale titles.
Zelnick said Netflix's incentive to grow subscribers and revenue by releasing entertaining titles makes games a logical destination for the company regardless of what it buys.
So, it stands to reason that they would make their way into the business of games.
Grand Theft Auto 6 launches in November on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S. Rockstar is due to show more of the game on August 27, via Netflix.
Join the conversation — sign in to comment.
Sign in