Take-Two CEO Responds to Stock Price Drop Following Google Genie Announcement: 'I Think People Are Confusing Tools With Hits'

Last week, Google announced Project Genie, an AI-powered virtual satellite creator inactive successful its infancy that seemed to spook a fig of video crippled investors. Following the announcement, banal prices of companies specified arsenic Take-Two, Roblox, and Unity took a noticeable dip, seemingly owed to a content that Genie was going to mostly oregon afloat regenerate user-generated contented down the line. But astatine slightest 1 of those companies' CEOs isn't ruffled by the terms drop: Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick.

Speaking to IGN contiguous up of the company's Q3 net call, Zelnick responded to my question astir whether oregon not helium saw Genie arsenic a menace to Take-Two's business. He doesn't. Quite the contrary, helium dependable beauteous positive. Here's his effect successful full:

"This institution and its products were built upon instrumentality learning and artificial quality much than 25 years ago. That's the communicative of this business; we usage computers to make what we do. So we're energized and excited by these caller tools and the prospects that they bring. We person actively embraced caller AI, I said truthful erstwhile we spoke astir it successful the past mates calls. [Author's note: I inquire Zelnick thing astir AI astir quarters arsenic news-relevant, here's a summary from 2023 of what has been his accordant stance.] In fact, we person hundreds of pilots and implementations [of AI] crossed our institution including with our studios. I deliberation tools are what thrust further innovation successful what we do, thrust efficiency, and thrust creativity, and that's our three-part strategy.

"I deliberation the disorder successful the marketplace is someway that tools equals properties...and tools and properties are precise antithetic things. Creators usage tools to marque astonishing entertainment, and of people that volition ne'er change, and erstwhile you marque astonishing amusement you person to marketplace it worldwide, and the radical who are champion astatine selling amusement worldwide are big, important amusement enterprises with the equilibrium expanse to really enactment those launches, companies similar us. So I consciousness much optimistic than ever that caller exertion is going to let america to supercharge our business."

In the past, including successful the aforementioned 2023 speech with Zelnick, I've asked him if helium thinks generative AI volition ever beryllium capable to make a GTA-like crippled wholesale, and his effect has ever been that it won't. But I asked him contiguous if the quality of Genie had changed thing for him; it hasn't.

"I don't deliberation theres immoderate instrumentality by itself that you tin property a fastener and marque a competitory property," Zelnick said. "Some romance novelists for illustration are utilizing AI tools to constitute definite parts of their book, but they inactive person to travel up with the concept, the characters, and the structure. I don't deliberation you're going to find deed movies, deed novels, deed songs, being wholly created with exertion with nary creator interaction, it's conscionable not the past of creativity. So I deliberation possibly radical are confusing tools and exertion with hits, and they're truly antithetic things, and I would ne'er privation to underestimate the value of quality genius, adjacent with fantastic tools. I deliberation fantastic tools unlock quality genius to bash large things."

Okay, but what if those fantastic tools, disposable present to anyone, are utilized to marque a clone of a GTA game? Does Zelnick person immoderate intelligence spot concerns? Sort of, sure, but he's seemingly of the caput that it's amended to enactment with the assemblage than against them.

"We support our intelligence spot and we are respectful of toher people's intelligence property," helium said. "At the aforesaid clip we've allowed a batch of users to prosecute with a batch of our games and of people the FiveM concern is an illustration of that. User-generated contented tin beryllium and already is simply a large portion of what we bash astir here. I besides consciousness that user-generated contented benignant of stands side-by-side with professionally-generated entertainment. For example, YouTube is simply a immense business, but it represents astir 12.5% of wide linear amusement consumption. 87.5% is inactive old-fashioned, nonrecreational contented made by quality beings." [Take-Two cited Activate Consulting arsenic the root of this stat pursuing the call.]

We besides spoke to Zelnick astir his assurance successful GTA 6's merchandise date, and Rockstar spinning up selling for the crippled this summer. In today's net report, Take-Two announced it had brought successful nett bookings of $1.76 cardinal for the quarter, and that it's raising its expectations for the twelvemonth to person nett bookings betwixt $6.65 cardinal to $6.7 billion.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].