GTA Mobile Future Downplayed By Take-Two Interactive
The idea of GTA: Mobile is nothing new. As far back as the 2010 release of Chinatown Wars we've had mobile ports of your favourite games - most recently with the upcoming Android and iOS releases of the maligned GTA Trilogy.
Having the ability to take Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City on the move is all well and good, but when compared to the sheer grunt of their console counterparts, there's no competition. Even as developers push to embrace the mobility of mobile gaming, Take-Two Interactive has downplayed its importance when revamping its groaning catalogue of games.
What Does Take-Two Interactive Think Of Mobile Gaming?
Click to enlargeSpeaking to The Wrap, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick explained how it's not as simple as taking your big IP and simply shrinking it for mobile. Take-Two owns everything from BioShock to Borderlands, Red Dead to GTA, so you can see why the dollar signs might be ringing in Zelnick's eyes.
"Not every piece of intellectual property belongs in mobile," said Zelnick. "Not every piece of intellectual property should be a console title. It depends on the property. Conceptually, we'd love to, but each one stands alone." He didn't completely discount mobile games, and with Take-Two's recent $12.7 billion acquisition of mobile gaming goliath Zynga, there could be a slow shift.
Zelnick went on to say he's like to bring some "core Take-Two IP to Zynga," but stopped short of naming "specific titles." Expanding on where things are up to, he added, "We don't even announce them once we are developing them until we're ready and close to releasing them. Zelnick then concluded by saying that producing mobile hits is "a really hard thing to do."
Will GTA 6 Release On Mobile?
It's a clear indication that GTA 6 probably won't be in the palm of your hand when it releases. Then again, did you ever expect it to? With Rockstar putting so many years of development into making a truly AAA title, why would it want to dilute that down just for a cash-grab mobile port?
If anything, it would make more sense to launch something GTA-related as a sister series to the mainline game. Look at the success of the classic Call of Duty games, Warzone as a battle royale spin-off, and Call of Duty: Mobile as its portable partner. Imagine zooming around in Vice City with GTA 6, playing an updated version of GTA Online to tie into GTA 6, and having a mobile companion. It sounds like a licence to print money to us.