Developing console games is becoming an increasingly risky and expensive business, GTA 5 publisher Take-Two has suggested.
Despite GTA 5 having become one of the most successful and profitable games of all time following its 2013 release, Take-Two has warned the industry’s movements are creating “a barrier of entry” into the sector.
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While the success rates of AAA games far exceed those of Hollywood movies – from the 80 per cent to the 30 per cent range – the money needed to achieve this success is growing.
“Those very expensive production, marketing, overhead, and in the case of sports titles, licensing, they do create a risk profile,” Zelnikc said.
He added: “From our point of view it embeds the winners even further. It actually creates a barrier to entry in our business.”
Highlighting his point, the Take-Two head suggested that developers now “cannot get in without having a couple hundred high quality engineers and artists, loads of capital and lots of money to market the title.”
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Despite Zelnick’s reservations about the increasingly money driven business that is the games industry, Take-Two and Rockstar recently confirmed plans for GTA 6 are already underway.
“We don’t know what GTA 6 will be, but we’ve got some ideas, Rockstar President Leslie Benzies stated earlier this month.
He added: “It comes from the idea first. Where is it going to be set is the first question. Then that defines the missions; you’re doing different things in LA than in New York or Miami. The map and story get worked up together, and the story is a basic flow of how it works out so you can layer the missions in.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
