Like most other big gaming companies, Take-Two has been part of a recent flurry of acquisition activity across the industry. Its planned acquisition of Zynga is set to close at the end of the month, and its Private Division label snapped up Roll7 late last year. But what about Take-Two? Is it possible that, like major publisher Activision-Blizzard, it could be acquired by a larger gaming corporation?
For now, that seems unlikely, based on comments made by CEO Strauss Zelnick in an interview ahead of today’s quarterly and full-year earnings call.
“We are a public company and we are here for the shareholders,” he told Golden News. “That said, our track record of creating value as an independent company is quite excellent, especially if you exclude the last three months. We think there are a lot of good times ahead and we like being an independent organization. But we are here for the shareholders.”
Zelnick also provided some context for the publisher’s recent acquisitions of Zynga and Roll7. He acknowledged the reality of industry consolidation, especially over the last six months. But he added that the rise in overall industry acquisitions wasn’t going to change anything for Take-Two, whose growth, he says, “has always been largely organic” but “has populated with some selective acquisitions in the way”.
“We are looking for creative deals that give us great intellectual property and great teams, and we will continue to do so in the future,” he said. “Without a doubt, the Zynga transaction is extremely significant for this company and we have a lot of work to do collectively to make sure we deliver value, and the focus will very much be organic growth going forward. But that won’t stop us from continuing to make acquisitions.” selective and disciplined for the Private Division and the rest of the business, including the mobile part of the business”.
Zelnick also spoke with us about a few other topics, including the likelihood of Take-Two getting the FIFA license after EA and FIFA parted ways, and fans’ current frustration with the state of Red Dead Online.
Looking ahead, Take-Two plans 18 new releases for the next fiscal year, including the main titles The Quarry, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, NBA 2K23, WWE 2K23, PGA Tour 2K23 and Kerbal Space Program 2. There are also eight games for devices. Mobiles on the go. , a new 2K sports title (it’s probably an nfl arcade game), a new Private Division franchise, Tales from the Borderlands 2, and “a remake of a previously released title available for purchase.”
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for Golden News. You can find her on Twitter @patovalentine.
