Take-Two has not ruled out a film or television adaptation of Grand Theft Auto, but the publisher is setting a high bar before moving forward. Strauss Zelnick, the company’s boss, addressed the possibility during an interview on The David Rubenstein Show as attention builds around Grand Theft Auto VI.
Zelnick said Take-Two would consider adapting one of its properties only when the creative teams behind it believe the project would serve the audience. He described the company as a creative business and said it is careful about extending its intellectual property into other forms of entertainment.
“We would make a movie or a television show based on our IP if our creative teams were passionate about it. If they thought that would somehow engage and delight our consumers. It’s a high bar to do that, and of course there’s always the risk of failure. So we don’t rule it out, but we’re very, very selective.” — Strauss Zelnick
A long-discussed adaptation
The possibility of a Grand Theft Auto movie or series has been raised before. Dan Houser, a Rockstar co-founder and creative director on multiple games in the series, previously confirmed that discussions about an adaptation had taken place at various points. Houser said the project presented too much risk, particularly because of the size and profile of the franchise.
That caution reflects the position Zelnick described in the interview. Rather than treating a screen adaptation as an automatic extension of the game series, Take-Two would require a project to meet the company’s creative standards and win support from the teams responsible for its properties.
Grand Theft Auto VI remains the immediate focus
The adaptation discussion comes while Grand Theft Auto VI remains one of the most anticipated projects in the publisher’s portfolio. Rockstar’s next mainline game is set in the Florida-inspired region of Leonida and includes locations associated with Vice City.
Early reports cited by ScreenRant have placed preorders for Grand Theft Auto VI at more than 9.69 million units, which would represent a record figure. The game has also been linked to an increase in PlayStation 5 sales. Those figures concern the upcoming game itself, while any film or television project remains conditional on creative approval inside Take-Two and its development teams.
- Take-Two has not ruled out a Grand Theft Auto movie or TV adaptation.
- Strauss Zelnick said the company would proceed only if its creative teams supported the project.
- Dan Houser previously said adaptation talks had occurred but described the risk as significant.
