CEO Strauss Zelnick says Western has potential to be “permanent” franchise, like James Bond.
During a recent earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick teased a sequel to 2010’s critically acclaimed Red Dead Redemption, saying he believes the game has the potential to be a “permanent” franchise, similar to the James Bond series.
“It’s been our goal not just to preserve and grow the Grand Theft Auto franchise, but also to build other franchises that we think can be permanent, whether that’s the Red Dead franchise or the Borderlands franchise or the BioShock franchise or others, Civilization, for example,” Zelnick said.
The executive also claimed that Take-Two has a unique approach to building franchises compared to its competitors. In his view, it is smarter to make “permanent” franchises that consumers will continually spend time and money on over the years instead of “making hay while the sun shines.”
“Our goal is to try to create permanent franchises, that’s the unique goal in the industry. Our competitors do not see it that way. Our competitors’ view is that our franchise will have a certain life, and at the end of that life, you move onto the next thing, so you better make hay while the sun shines,” Zelnick said. “Our view is to the contrary. The best franchises are permanent franchises. Outside of our business you can look at James Bond, for example.”
Red Dead Redemption was released in May 2010 to nearly universal praise. The game was developed primarily by Rockstar San Diego and is a spiritual successor to 2004’s Red Dead Revolver, which Rockstar Games purchased from Capcom in 2002 after its cancellation.
If the Red Dead Redemption franchise is to return, it could be one of the multiple next-generation games Take-Two currently has in development. In May, CEO Strauss Zelnick said, “We also have a extraordinary pipeline of titles in development for next-generation platforms, including groundbreaking new intellectual property and releases from our proven franchises.”
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