Take-Two Wants to Remain Independent and Would Refuse a Netflix Takeover

August 27th marks a significant date. It's when "Grand Theft Auto VI" will be fully revealed, not through a dedicated event or even solely on YouTube, but via Netflix. This move has been praised by Take-Two CEO, Strauss Zelnick. However, despite his positive remarks about Netflix's growing interest in video games, he appears unwilling to let the streaming giant acquire Take-Two.

In an interview with CNBC, transcribed by XboxAchievements.com, Zelnick elaborated on his perspective regarding Netflix and the gaming sector:

"They've brought in talented and experienced executives from the interactive entertainment space, and we've done a lot of deals with them; we've distributed many titles on the Netflix platform," he stated. "I think it's no secret that their goal is to have as many subscribers as possible, and they want to provide the best entertainment to those subscribers, so it makes sense that they would move into the [video game] sector."

However, when it comes to potential acquisitions of video game companies by Netflix, Zelnick adopted a more diplomatic tone, even though his preference for Take-Two to remain independent is clear:

"So you'll have to ask [co-CEOs] Ted [Sarandos] and Greg [Peters], not me, what they intend to do about that. I think, historically, Netflix hasn't made big acquisitions. They've grown organically, and they've done a very good job of it," he explained. "As for us, I don't know. I think we're very proud of the way we've built this company independently. We are now the largest publicly traded company in the world focused exclusively on this sector. We're projecting over $8 billion in revenue this year. We're profitable year after year. I don't mean to say that it's easy, or even predictable. We have to get up every morning and go to work."

"But I think if anyone deserves to be an independent company, it's us," Zelnick concluded.

For those without Netflix or who miss the "Grand Theft Auto VI" reveal on the platform at 8 PM BST/9 PM CEST on August 27th, the show will be streamed on other platforms, such as YouTube and Gamereactor, six hours later.