We've been writing a lot lately about the ways in which the ongoing tariff chaos in the United States might impact the games industry, from consoles to accessories to software. And while some folks seem to be fairly concerned over how this might impact both consumers and business, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick seemed relatively unphased by the idea of tariffs on today's Q&A call with investors.
Toward the end of the call, Zelnick was asked whether he was concerned specifically about potential console price increases and their impact on the overall gaming ecosystem. This was referring to the recent price bump on Xbox Series consoles, and the expected PlayStation 5 increase that may follow.
Zelnick believes that confusing as the tariff back-and-forth is, Take-Two's fiscal guidance is fairly set in stone, at least for the coming year:
"Our guide is for the next ten months, essentially, that's the part of the fiscal year that hasn't elapsed yet, and it's very difficult to predict where tariffs will land, given how things have bumped around so far. We feel reasonably confident that our guide wouldn't be meaningfully affected, unless tariffs ran off in a very different direction than we currently expect. In any case, there's already a very substantial install base for all of our target platforms except Nintendo Switch 2, which is pre-launch. So we have, I think, enough insight that we wouldn't be affected by any changes."
Zelnick has reason to be confident. As he points out, most of the games Take-Two will release in the coming fiscal year are coming to platforms people largely already own. A few people buying or not buying an Xbox Series or a PS5 or even a Nintendo Switch 2 isn't going to make a massive difference. What's more, much of Take-Two's revenue comes from digital purchases in ongoing games like GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and its mobile business, which aren't subject to tariffs at all.
Still, as Zelnick notes, everything is still up in the air. We've spoken to analysts numerous times over the last few months on the subject of tariffs, and all of them have reiterated that the situation is ever-changing and unpredictable, which even the CEO of Take-Two is leaving room for.
We spoke directly to Zelnick ahead of the investor call about the company's quarter, including discussion of GTA 6's development timeline, and Zelnick's thoughts on the game's recent delay to next year. And we also wrote about Zelnick's Q&A comments on the Nintendo Switch 2, and why he's optimistic for its release.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
