Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick says AI can assist development but cannot create a game like GTA VI, calling artificial intelligence “derivative” and incapable of true creativity or protectable intellectual property.
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick doesn’t think games like Grand Theft Auto VI could be made by artifical intelligence.
Speaking at CNBC’s Technology Executive Council Summit, Zelnick doubled down on his long-held belief that while AI is a useful productivity tool, it cannot replicate the genius or originality that define hit games.
He said: “I’m enthusiastic about AI helping us do a better job, a more efficient job. But genius is the domain of human beings. You can’t automate creativity.”
He added: “No creativity can exist by definition in any AI model.”
Zelnick – whose company Take-Two owns GTA studio Rockstar Games – described AI systems as “inherently derivative” because they rely on training data drawn from past work.
He explained: “Anything that involves backward-looking data compute, AI is really good for that.
“But what we do at Take-Two – building worlds, writing stories, creating humor and surprise – it’s going to be really, really bad at.”
He also raised concerns about copyright and originality, warning that content generated by AI cannot be protected under current intellectual-property law.
He said: “If you create intellectual property with AI, it’s not protectable.
“We have to protect our IP – and be mindful of others’ rights – which naturally creates constraints.”
The remarks come as the games industry experiments with machine learning for animation, dialogue, and design.
Even so, Zelnick insists that titles like GTA VI, set to launch May 26, 2026, demand the human touch.
He said: “Rockstar’s mission has always been to create something that approaches perfection.
“You don’t get that by pressing a button.”
GTA VI couldn’t be made by AI, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick says
