[GameSpot] - GTA On Mobile? "The List Is Endless," Take-Two Says About Future Releases Amid Zynga Buyout

[343iBot]

Take-Two, the parent company of GTA and Red Dead developer Rockstar Games, is in the process of acquiring Zynga, and this paves the way for Take-Two's franchises to have a "clear path" toward releasing on mobile. While Take-Two has not disclosed any specific new games for mobile, many are wondering if GTA, Red Dead, BioShock, and others might get mobile games down the road. It's too soon to say, but Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has now spoken about the company's development philosophy and teased that "the list is endless" for future games from Take-Two and Zynga.

Speaking with analysts about the proposed buyout, Zelnick pointed out that, although it has some of the most popular franchises in gaming like GTA and Red Dead, the company's catalog of big-name series have been "nearly entirely unexploited" for mobile and free-to-play.

"We have the ability together from both a development and a publishing point of view to optimize the creation of new titles. New titles based on Take-Two's core intellectual property," Zelnick said. "We believe we have the best collection of console and PC intellectual property in the interactive entertainment business, and it's basically nearly entirely unexploited for mobile and free to play around the world."

Zelnick said Zynga has "best-in-class" studios and mobile/free-to-play publishing operations, and this expertise is part of the reason the executive is so excited about the partnership. Zelnick added that Zynga has proven it can create "recurrent consumer spending" with its games, and this is something that Take-Two wants to have a bigger piece of going forward.

As for future games, Zelnick said, "The list is endless, and it's early days."

He added: "We're just thrilled to be able to have this opportunity to work together and to create what we are certain will be extraordinary value going forward."

The executive went on to say that, for any game development decision, it would depend on a number of factors. The teams at Take-Two and Zynga would need to find the right studio and "observe the creative process," Zelnick said.

"But as you know, mobile development is not the same as console development. We are already in the mobile development business. Zynga is incredibly expert in mobile development and we would hope to be able to bring properties to market relatively soon," he said.

In an interview with GI.biz, Zelnick said the teams are already "noodling" with a few ideas for new games, but he didn't share any specifics.

Take-Two's acquisition proposal for Zynga includes a "go-shop" clause that allows Zynga to shop around for a better deal with a different company over a period of 45 days. Take-Two is proposing to pay a 64% premium on Zynga's share price to help solidify its bid, and Zynga would have to pay a penalty in the hundreds of millions of dollars if it signs with a different company.

Take-Two has offered $12.7 billion to acquire Zynga, and if it goes through, it would be the biggest acquisition in the history of video games by a wide margin. For comparison, Microsoft bought ZeniMax/Bethesda for $8.1 billion.

Take-Two's push into the mobile space with the proposed acquisition of Zynga doesn't necessarily mean the company will slow down its releases for console and PC. Recently, it was suggested that GTA 6 could be released as soon as 2023.

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