Author: Game Infliction

In recent weeks, a flurry of Xbox rumors about everything from platform exclusivity, the future of the company as a hardware maker, and more have prompted fans to start speculating whether or not there will even be an Xbox console for the next hardware generation. Xbox head Phil Spencer has been gearing up to explain the company’s business plan in an update next week, but in the meantime, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is keeping a relatively cool head about how any of it will impact his company’s business.

Speaking to IGN ahead of the release of Take-Two’s Q3 earnings, Zelnick spoke about both the future of physical games media as well as whether or not having two competing consoles was a necessity. We pointed out the persistent rumors that Xbox seems to be backing away from selling physical games, and asked Zelnick if Take-Two still saw value in releasing physical games on Xbox in light of that – especially since 95% of the company’s net bookings last quarter were digital anyway.

Zelnick answered with a line he’s used before when asked about other types of business models: “We’ll be where the consumer is.”

” I think I said, I think ten years ago, I was asked what will be the market share of digital distribution in ten years and I said, most of it. [Author’s Note: We couldn’t find this precise quote, but he did predict digital would grow significantly.] But there will almost certainly be a physical market that extends for quite a long time. There still is in the recorded music business, for example. We’ll support that if it makes sense to support it. We don’t make our decisions based on opinions. We base our decisions on where the consumer is.”

I pressed him on the situation with Xbox specifically, and Zelnick reiterated his stance. Xbox’s own moves will certainly inform their decision, he said, because they can’t publish physical games on a console if it doesn’t support them. But what it all comes down to is still consumer behavior.

Then, he added:

“It’s not costly to master something for physical distribution. As long as you don’t produce too much inventory, it’s not costly…So this isn’t a big decision for us. It was a big decision 30 years ago in the business when we had to produce cartridges, and you couldn’t do anything with them…but today we can order a disc and five days later it can be on the shelf.”

Finally, I asked Zelnick if he felt it was important to his business and the health of the video game market to have an Xbox console competing with PlayStation. He replied: “I think it’s a benefit. Do I think ultimately it’s a necessity? No. But I do think it’s a benefit.”

Take-Two reported net bookings of $1.34 billion in the last quarter, down 3% year-over-year, and 95% of which were digital. Grand Theft Auto 5 sold yet another five million copies, bringing it up to over 195 million total units, and NBA 2K24 crossed the 7 million units sold mark as well. The company lowered its fiscal outlook for the full year due to a mix of factors including the delay of No Rest for the Wicked, weakening mobile ad spend, and lower than expected performance of NBA 2K. The new outlook expects between $5.25 billion to $5.3 billion in net bookings.

We also spoke to Zelnick in the same interview about the GTA 6 trailer leak last December, and asked the CEO about the company’s plans for cost reduction, and whether or not those would include layoffs.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Alongside Take-Two’s earnings report, CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed his thoughts on the trailer leak for Rockstar Games’ highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6.

Zelnick said that while it was “disappointing” that the trailer was leaked before Rockstar could officially reveal it to the world, he does not believe it hurt the development team.

“It’s amazing when the trailer announcement is huge news, and then we were very gratified when the trailer broke the internet…so we couldn’t be happier or more excited,” Zelnick explained. “In terms of the leak, that’s always disappointing for the team, but ultimately, I don’t think it hurt us.”

Grand Theft Auto 6 was one of 2023’s biggest gaming announcements, coming in right at the end of the year. Rockstar planned to reveal the first GTA 6 trailer on December 5, 2023, at 9 am ET. However, that trailer would be leaked on X/Twitter less than 24 hours before its scheduled premiere, leading to Rockstar officially posting the trailer on YouTube early.

As Zelnick alluded, Rockstar developers took to social media to express their frustration at the trailer leaking before its premiere. Nevertheless, the trailer was still a massive hit when it did premiere, breaking MrBeasts’ record for most views on YouTube in 24 hours. One of the game’s playable characters, Lucia, also quickly became a fan favorite, to the point that fans are already modding her into other games.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released sometime next year on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more on GTA 6, check out our roundup of everything we’ve learned about the game so far.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

If you like demanding, bite-sized platformers, I have great news for you! Bzzzt is a fun and fresh entry that evokes really popular games in the genre, such as Celeste and Super Meat Boy. What’s more, we are giving out keys as part of IGN Plus. WOOHOO!

IGN Plus Monthly Game: Bzzzt

Bzzzt is a fast-paced platformer from solo developer Karel Matejka (also known as KO.DLL). who has worked on the game alone for four years. They crafted every element of the game except the (very catchy) music, which was deftly made by their long-time friend Martin Linda. According to Karel, Bzzzt is inspired by a litany of games, including Manic Miner, Mario, Oddworld, Mega Man, VVVVVV, Shovel Knight, Geometry Dash, Hollow Knight, and more.

From where I’m sitting, it certainly evokes Celeste and Super Meat Boy, too, although unlike Super Meat Boy, there are several difficulty settings which let you make up to three mistakes before needing to start the bite-sized stage over.

Bzzzt Developer Interview – Karel Matejka (Bzzzt Sole Developer)

For this interview, I corresponded with Karel Matejka about their solo-developed game Bzzzt, retro games that inspire them, taking on solo game development, and more.

I hope you enjoy the game, and this excerpt from our interview. Cheers!

Brian: I understand that bringing back the old-school feel and love of retro games inspired the creation of Bzzzt. (It reminds me of Super Meat Boy with a dash of Celeste, among other things)

Karel: I was always fascinated by the old 8-bit games. As a kid, I was amazed by a new and fresh kind of entertainment I had never seen before. It was the main reason why I started making games by myself. After more than 30 years in the game industry, working on big titles, I decided to “time-travel” back to the eighties, become an indie developer, and see if I could make a game reflecting that nostalgic feeling without any old computers’ limits. I wanted to pay tribute to games I grew up on but with fresh design approaches, perfectly tight controls, rainbow art, high-frequency animations, and supersonic-speed gameplay.

I did not see the reason for creating “just another” retro game with loose controls… platforming full of frustration, and stuttering camera movement – that’s why I also searched for inspiration in modern games. Celeste has remarkably polished controls and a system of helping players. Super Meat Boy inspired me to make the gameplay more frenetic, and Cuphead was the inspiration for the ever-changing gameplay and boss stages. The list of games which influenced Bzzzt is almost endless: Manic Miner, Mario, Oddworld, Mega Man, VVVVVV, Shovel Knight, Geometry Dash, Hollow Knight, etc.

Brian: What makes the short stages / speedrunning style so compelling, as a developer?

Karel: I tried to build longer stages during playtesting, but this level design was too stressful for players. So, I decided to create shorter stages with perfectly synchronized traps and keep surprising players with new mechanics at every step – that was finally the right direction for the game and the source of core fun!

The Bzzzt game is about solving fast speedrun puzzles, easily memorizing all obstacles, and performing perfect jump-dash-run sequences without worrying too much about being killed by traps or enemies. Everything is instant, satisfying, and very, very addictive. The quote, “Just one last run, and I am going to sleep”, best illustrates this game.

What are some of the team’s favorite things/elements from the games?

Karel: I play games mostly because of their story (I am a huge fan of the JRPG genre). If the game has a well-written story, I am in! Maybe that’s why I am not a big fan of the Rogue-like genre. I need some progress, and I hate losing it. I love it when developers experiment with genres. When there is something fresh, a new game mechanic or an unexpected genre twist, I enjoy it a lot.

For instance, Dave the Diver. Almost all exploration games have fishing minigames – variations that have been seen hundreds of times – and Dave the Diver team finally made fishing entertaining. Or Loop Hero. They picked a Tower Defense genre and turned its established rules inside out.

Brian: For me, the music is great and the feel of the platforming is fantastic.

Karel: I started experimenting with music when I realized that many games share animation tempo and music rhythm. In the Rayman series, there are stages that are synchronized with the music, or “dancing” flowers in Plants versus Zombies are great examples.

With Martin, we decided to make the soundtrack and animated sprites precisely this way. Players will not realize this immediately, but it’s something inside that will satisfy their senses.

Brian: I am a big fan of Easy mode’s 3 lives. Being able to scale the challenge to the players desired level is a plus in my opinion. Was there ever a discussion about a mode with infinite continues per stage, or adding slowdown, or other accessibility options, given the demands placed on the player?

Karel: Yes, we are still discussing that. I plan to add a more “relaxing” mode to the game. Many players want less challenging enemies or to enjoy the game art without being disturbed by traps too much. I have already started working on that.

Brian: The sidescrolling bullet hell section with the ship was so cool, as was the 80s synthwave music.

Karel: Initially, the idea behind the game was to pay tribute only to one specific game – the first game I played on ZX Spectrum with my brother. It was Manic Miner. But when I was coding more and more subsystems, I realized it would be an unexploited potential to use only one inspiration. So, In the end, I decided to pay tribute to more games from that era. And SHMUP, because I love that genre a lot, was the first one I decided to add there as a bonus. There are so many cultural references inside the game, and it’s up to players to discover them.

Brian: Were there any other names you considered for the game?

Karel: Haha, I did not consider other names, this one was the first. Yes, I know that the game title is a bit silly, but as everything inside the game has its own inspiration evoking ’80s/’90s, there are also a few ones behind the Bzzzt name. The first one is a game called PSSST!, which was released on ZX Spectrum in 1983. The second is Ruby Rhod’s quote from The Fifth Element, directed by my favourite director, Luc Besson. And, the last inspiration is that the name reminds me of the sound of electricity, and it has a tight connection with the main character and the electric traps used inside the game.

Brian: Any notable, interesting, or fun stories from development that you can share?

Karel: When thinking about naming characters, I decided to use my friends’ names. There is a bar in Prague called BAD TIMES with a bartender named Norbert. The funny thing is, he hates his name so much that he asked us to call him only Bert (and he can be really mad sometimes). So, I have drawn the main antagonist after him, calling him Badbert and good scientist Norbert. This way, my favourite bartender has a double role in a game and does not even know about that. Maybe Badbert character is my alter ego in the end. Who knows?

Brian: What would you tell players who are getting ready to jump in for the first time?

Karel: I hope players will have fun playing the game like I did while creating it. It was a crazy long ride, but it was worth it. Bzzzt game is not only a trip to the past; it is a record of how I remember the evolution of precision platformers from its beginning till now. Oh yes! And there are leaderboards, trophies and Steam achievements!!! 🙂 And if you are still not decided, there is a free demo on Steam.

Bonus: What is one game you’ve played lately that really captured you?

Karel: Haha, I am again playing HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC 3 right now. It captured me 25 years ago and can’t let me go. 🙂

What Is IGN Plus?

IGN Plus is IGN’s membership program for IGN fans and gamers. You can try it for just $1 for 30 days to see if it’s for you. As an IGN Plus member you get:

• No third party ads across all of IGN
• Unlimited use of IGN and MapGenie game maps
• Access to free game codes and DLC each month (Recent titles include: American Hero, Enclave HD, Antonball Deluxe, KarmaZoo, & more)
• Grants 15% off most items at the IGN Store
• Huge giveaways (Tekken 8 figures, custom Steam Decks, etc.)
• And much more!

Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN & GameSpot. You can get your fix of his antics on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Bluesky, & Backloggd, & check out his fantastic video game talk show, The Platformers, on Backloggd & Apple Podcasts.

No one knows exactly when Grand Theft Auto 6 will launch outside of Take-Two and Rockstar, but some people are in better positions to take guesses than others. One of those better-equipped guessers is Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, whose job involves making business plans that account for competitors’ massive game releases. At the moment, Guillemot is expecting a GTA 6 release sometime after March 2025 – and he’s feeling pretty good about it.

During Ubisoft’s Q3 earnings call today, Guillemot was asked how Ubisoft was thinking about their upcoming games lineup now that GTA 6 has been officially announced. The asker suggested the game was expected to target the end of fiscal 2025, which for Ubisoft would mean sometime in January through March of 2025.

Guillemot responded as follows:

What we’ve seen in the past is that each time there’s a big release like GTA, there are more and more people coming back to the industry, and that helps other games to sell as well. We see it for sure. We look at this and we are really organizing things around the launch of that game, which we do not know exactly when it is going to happen. We consider it will be closer to our financial year ’26 than our financial year ’25. But what we’ve seen is that generally it’s actually positive for the market, and we did a good launch with the launch of GTA 5 first launch and GTA 5 online game, each time we were able to generate really good revenue and profit on the games we launched.

To clarify, this means Guillemot is expecting GTA 6 won’t show up until April of 2025 or later, which does fit with the official release window Take-Two gave of just “2025.” But this is notably a little later than what some have been speculating based on past remarks by Take-Two Interactive, GTA 6’s publisher. Previously, Take-Two made bold projections about “groundbreaking titles” releasing in its own fiscal 2025 (which lines up with Ubisoft’s) that would bring them to “achieve over $8 billion in net bookings,” followed by even higher results in fiscal 2026. This could mean GTA 6 has been quietly pushed back behind the scenes, but it’s also possible this prediction was never intended to be about GTA 6 in the first place, but a number of analysts took that to mean GTA 6 would be a fiscal 2025 game.

Whatever the case, everything is still speculation and we won’t know GTA 6’s release date until we’re told what it is. But if you were expecting to be able to play it first thing in 2025, you might want to temper your hopes a bit.

What’s maybe more interesting is Guillemot’s statement that a GTA 6 release will be good for Ubisoft too. It’s long been known that AAA game companies will frequently sweat over when to release games so they don’t have to compete with other major releases that might drown them out, so it’d be natural for Ubisoft to want to avoid having any of its own major releases debut around the same time as GTA 6. But Guillemot’s point that a game like GTA 6 will draw people into video games who haven’t played them in a while or even ever before is an apt one. After they get done with GTA 6, players will want something else to do, and that something might just be an Ubisoft game.

We finally got our first look at GTA 6 later last year, when the first official trailer leaked less than 24 hours before it was supposed to debut. We learned at the time that it currently isn’t planned for PC at launch, and that it will feature dual protagonists including a new fan-beloved heroine named Lucia. For more information, check out our roundup of everything we’ve learned about the game so far.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.