Take-Two Interactive took to the stars earlier this week by announcing the industry's most expensive acquisition to date, a nearly $12 billion purchase of mobile game distributor Zynga. The announcement alongside Take-Two's recently unveiled financial report no sooner sparked excitement as it did intense analysis by some of the most talented minds in financial investing.
Axios' Stephen Totilo on Twitter quotes one such analyst from Jefferies Financial Group:
"There are only a handful of titles that can...provide management with the confidence to put out such a strong guidance; we believe there is at least one Rockstar IP set to be released by FY24."
Cowen's Doug Creutz likewise weighed in on the estimation, claiming $9 billion as the potential output under Take-Two's hopeful 14% forecast. This evaluation does not, however, take into consideration the company's recent acquisition of Zynga. In all likelihood, it's a potential preview into Rockstar's future endeavors, as witnessed in a similar forecast back in 2011, which marked the inevitable release of Grand Theft Auto V in 2013.
Related Article: 'Bully 2' Sequel May Have Been Canceled by Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games - Why?
This aforementioned experience, whose online counterpart still makes Rockstar millions in revenue per day, has become the most profitable entertainment product ever conceived. Its follow-up would no doubt be caused for immediate celebration via both fans and haughty investors.
But is the fiscal year 2024 a viable release window? For those unaware, this would be from the start of April 2023 to the end of March 2024. It falls in line with previous remarks made by both Tom Henderson, game industry insider, and Jason Schreier, Bloomberg journalist.
With the pandemic pushing release windows into the stratosphere, it's not too difficult to see GTA 6 release by the end of 2024. It could also be something else entirely, potentially a remake of either Red Dead Redemption or GTA 4.
As arguably one of the most anticipated video game experiences yet to be revealed, GTA 6 would mark a major tipping point in the history of Rockstar Games. For one, it would be the first Grand Theft Auto experience unveiled in nearly a decade, but also it would be Rockstar's first game released without its prized lead writer and co-founder, Dan Houser, under its umbrella.
Houser left Rockstar back in 2020 and has only recently resurfaced with his own studio in tow. With Houser out of the picture, it remains to be seen if Rockstar can still deliver on something as monumental as GTA 5, Red Redemption 2, and Bully without the mastermind himself in the pilot seat.
