Take-Two CEO Says Making Hit Games Still Belongs to Humans, Not AI

Take-Two Interactive chief executive Strauss Zelnick pushed back on the idea that artificial intelligence will soon be able to build the company's biggest games without developers. He made the remarks on the publisher's second quarter earnings call for fiscal 2027, where investors also asked about Grand Theft Auto VI and the growing role of AI across the industry.

One caller raised a narrower worry. Over the past few weeks, AI-powered tools that compile and decompile game code have drawn attention for how they could fuel piracy, and the caller wanted to know how Take-Two views that threat. Publishers have been watching the issue closely, since leaked or reverse-engineered builds can reach players outside the company's control and eat into sales.

Zelnick returned to a theme the company has long emphasized: creativity is the core of the business. He said that making a hit "remains the purview of human beings," treating AI as a set of tools that can help developers work faster rather than as a replacement for the people who design worlds, write stories and build the systems players spend hundreds of hours inside.

The message fits a broader pattern in the games industry, where executives tend to describe AI as a productivity aid for tasks like testing, asset creation and prototyping, while leaving creative direction with their teams. Claims of efficiency gains are easier to make than to verify, and piracy adds a risk that is harder to quantify than production costs.

For now, the takeaway from the call is clear. Take-Two sees AI as a way to support its studios, not as a shortcut to producing its hit franchises without them.