Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says AI fears are overstated, pushes back on Elon Musk's GTA 6 claims

'People spend too much time talking about the 'Woe is me' risk related to AI' -- GTA 6 publisher CEO says AI fears are overstated

As the gaming public eagerly awaits the next trailer for Rockstar Games' much-anticipated "Grand Theft Auto 6", Take-Two (the publisher behind Rockstar Games) CEO Strauss Zelnick is making the rounds to speak at assorted events. Zelnick made a recent appearance for an on-stage discussion at Semafor's World Economy 2026 event. Among the many topics covered during that conversation, the Take-Two CEO gave his thoughts on the usage of generative AI. In his opinion, the fear surrounding it is completely overstated. Zelnick feels AI fears are overblown Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick pushed back against the doom-and-gloom narrative around AI, arguing the conversation focuses too heavily on fear instead of opportunity. While acknowledging that any technology can be used for harmful purposes, he said innovation is coming either way and companies are better off learning how to use it responsibly. Zelnick also suggested AI could help game developers by taking over repetitive, time-consuming tasks, freeing artists and creators to focus on more meaningful and imaginative work. He used the example of manually drawing grass in a game world, saying AI could dramatically speed up that kind of production work. When asked whether wider AI adoption could lead to layoffs at Take-Two Interactive, Zelnick rejected the idea that AI replaces creativity. He argued current AI models are trained on past data and don't truly invent something new making human artists, designers and storytellers more valuable, not less. Zelnick also shot back at Elon Musk's lofty claims about AI Zelnick also took an opportunity to shoot back at Elon Musk's wild claims about AI being powerful enough to generate its own version of GTA 6. Here's the fiery response that Zelnick delivered to Musk: "If AI were going to get rid of employment, the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, knows a little something about AI, last time I checked. He has unlimited financial resources, and he has unlimited human resources, and he has, apparently, an unlimited number of ideas. He knows his way around AI. The man works 20 hours a day. If AI were going to take anyone's job, wouldn't it take his job? The richest guy on Earth, wouldn't that be job number one for AI to take? Why is he so busy? By the way, why am I working harder than ever despite the fact that I've totally accepted AI into every part of my life?" During an earlier interview with The Game Business, Zelnick said that AI would never be able to create something monumental, smash hits at the level of GTA. "The notion that somehow new tools would allow an individual to push a button and generate a hit, market a hit, and bring it to many millions of consumers around the world -- it's a laughable notion," Zelnick noted. "It's just never been the case with entertainment." Bottom line If we take Strauss Zelnick at his word, Take-Two Interactive and its studios won't become overly dependent on generative AI -- and employees shouldn't be worried about being replaced by it. Gamers have already shown strong resistance to generative AI art appearing in titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Crimson Desert, so many players are hoping both major publishers and indie developers think carefully before adding it to future releases. Which brings us to the biggest concern of all: Grand Theft Auto VI better not contain a single ounce of generative AI-created content. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok.

'If AI were to take anyone's job, wouldn't it take Elon Musk's job? The richest guy on Earth?' -- Take-Two CEO says AI won't get rid of jobs, but allow artists to do 'higher quality work' instead

The CEO recently said the idea that AI tools could create GTA 6 is "a laughable notion" * Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says there are benefits to AI * Zelnick says AI will allow Take-Two's creators to focus on more "higher quality work" * He adds that AI is more likely to take Elon Musk's job Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has said that artificial intelligence (AI) won't steal artists' jobs, but that it will allow them to do "higher quality work" instead of tedious tasks. Speaking at the Semafor World Economy 2026, Zelnick discussed the rapidly growing popularity of AI and responded to how the technology impacts quality and creativity at some of Take-Two's subsidiaries, like GTA 6 studio Rockstar Games and 2K. "The three-part strategy of Take-Two is: be the most creative, be the most innovative, be the most efficient, and we think AI informs all three," Zelnick said. "Briefly on creativity, anything that you can do that, you know, reduces mundane work means that our creators can do more exciting work." "So when I started in the video game business, which was, believe it or not, 1993, if you wanted to create a lawn, an artist had to create individual blades of grass; otherwise, it looked like concrete. Today, this is pre-AI, if one of my artists and I have many thousands of them wants to create a lawn, they press the lawn button, and that populates a lawn. "So just imagine AI, you know, does that on steroids. So what does that mean? That does not mean that all my artists are now out of work. That's the mistake of some of them might be out of work, right? No, they won't be out of work. They'll be doing higher-quality work. They don't care about lawns anymore." The CEO continued, saying that while AI "can be used for evil" purposes, people "spend too much time talking about the 'woe is me' risk," adding that if AI were going to take anyone's job, it would be Tesla boss Elon Musk. "If AI were going to get rid of employment, the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, knows a little something about AI, last time I checked," the Take-Two head said. "He has unlimited financial resources, and he has unlimited human resources, and he has, apparently, an unlimited number of ideas. He knows his way around AI. "The man works 20 hours a day. If AI were going to take anyone's job, wouldn't it take his job? The richest guy on Earth, wouldn't that be job number one for AI to take? Why is he so busy? By the way, why am I working harder than ever despite the fact that I've totally accepted AI into every part of my life?" Zelnick's comments about Musk come after the latter suggested that AI could generate its own GTA 6 in a reply on X/Twitter. While the Take-Two boss didn't directly respond to the post, he later called the idea of AI tools creating a video game on GTA 6's scale a "laughable notion" (via The Game Business). "These tools may help you create assets, but that won't help you create hits," Zelnick said at the time. "...The notion that somehow new tools would allow an individual to push a button and generate a hit, market a hit, and bring it to many millions of consumers around the world -- it's a laughable notion. It's just never been the case with entertainment." Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button! And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

Elon Musk is more at risk of losing his job to AI than artists are according to Take-Two's CEO: 'If AI were going to take anyone's job, wouldn't it take his job?'

Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive was recently asked about the integration of AI within games like Grand Theft Auto 6, what its actual use case is, and what it means for artists and other developers. Surprisingly, Zelnick isn't worried about the job security of his artists, instead he's more concerned about the richest man in the world. "If AI were going to get rid of employment, the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, knows a little something about AI, last time I checked," Zelnick says during an interview at the Semafor World Economy 2026 panel. "He has unlimited financial resources and he has unlimited human resources and he has, apparently, an unlimited amount of ideas, he also knows his way around AI. The man works 20 hours a day, if AI were going to take anyone's job wouldn't it take his job, the richest guy on Earth. Wouldn't that be like job number one for AI to take. Why is he so busy?" "Maybe Elon Musk is indeed a simulation, it's possible," Zelnick adds. "I mean in fairness if you were going to choose one person who was a simulation he would be my number one choice." On the other hand, Zelnick seems to think that AI will be nothing but a help to his artists, as it acts as the heavy lifter, taking mundane jobs away from devs: "The three part strategy of Take-Two is 'Be the most creative. Be the most innovative. Be the most efficient' and we think AI informs all three. Briefly on creativity, anything you can do that reduces mundane work means our creators can do more exciting work." We've actually seen some developers use machine learning to cut out the busy work, such as World of Warcraft. Franchise director John Hight previously explained that while WoW isn't fully buying into the generative AI rush the team is prepared to use machine learning to automate certain processes. A good example of this is how 2018's Into the Spiderverse used machine learning to help redraw thousands of comic book ink lines on existing panels. "When I started in the videogame business which was, believe it or not, in 1993, if you wanted to create a lawn, an artist had to create individual blades of grass otherwise it would look like concrete," Zelnick continues. "Today, pre-AI, if one of my artists, and I have many thousands of them, want to create a lawn, they press the lawn button, and AI does that on steroids. "So what does that mean? That does not mean that all of my artists are out of work. No, they won't be out of work, they'll be doing higher quality work, they don't care about lawns anymore, they care about this incredible creature." This idea that artists will be able to focus on the bigger picture or more complex issues is not wholly reassuring. The interview even posits the question of what happens when AI evolves to have a "creature button", essentially swallowing up even more artistic jobs. To this Zelnick replies: "The creature button is going to take data using AI which is backward-looking and we need to make creatures that are forward-looking to make hits. And so our creators have to do that." That's all well and good for Take Two, but there's no guarantee all publishers will have the same guidelines and will favour forward thinking human-made art over mass manufactured designs which are cheaper and faster to create. The gaming industry's track record isn't exactly reassuring. But Zelnick still stays firm in his opinion that AI won't actually rob artists of their jobs: "For those of you who think you're going to be made unemployed by AI, two things: technology creates productivity, productivity creates GDP, GDP creates more employment. Remember the paperless office? We were promised because of digital technology we'd have a paperless office. We use more paper in offices today than ever before." To round it all off, Zelnick asks one more question: "And by the way, why am I working harder than ever despite the fact that I've totally accepted AI into every part of my life?" Perhaps it's because many current AI tools aren't actually meant to help productivity. They're more a Trojan horse whose sole use case is to worm its way into every part of our day regardless of efficiency, because it's developed by people who have bet too much money and their own professional credentials on its success, and anything other than complete infiltration wouldn't be enough to justify the cost spent. But I don't know, that's just a thought.

Take-Two boss says AI meets company's business tenants, reiterates tech won't replace creatives and artists

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick talks about his thoughts and views on AI, saying that the technology can help supercharge the creative potential of artists by reducing mundane work. AI adoption is on the rise as video game companies seek ways to reduce costs and speed up production schedules. The industry is more competitive than ever, and publishers are keen to chase the latest trends before consumer tastes shift to the next big thing. AI has been a contentious topic because these cost reductions are being used to justify layoffs while AI itself is simultaneously being used for more widespread tasks, potentially reducing the need for so many workers. Even companies like Take-Two Interactive are utilizing AI in their own way, and despite this usage, company CEO Strauss Zelnick still has the same level-headed take on AI: it won't replace artists or creatives, instead empowering them to do higher-level work. AI can't replace artists because it can't replicate the magic required to make big hits, or the same kind of prowess that Rockstar Games flexes with GTA V and the upcoming GTA 6. At a recent on-stage interview at the Semafor World Economy 2026 event, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick affirmed that AI addresses all three of the company's main business tenants, but also reiterates that the technology isn't going to start taking the jobs or responsibilities of creators.

Take-Two CEO says if AI replaces anyone, it should be Elon Musk after his claim GTA 6 could come from gen-AI before Rockstar: "The richest guy on Earth, wouldn't that be job number one for AI to take?"

Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of GTA 6 publisher Take-Two, has responded to comments made by Elon Musk about how the profundity of generative AI will change game development. In short, he disagrees and takes a shot at the Tesla CEO. Back in January, Musk agreed with a Twitter user that, "There's definitely a non-zero chance we get 'generate your own GTA 6 in a few minutes' before GTA 6." Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, then chimed in: "We have text-to-image and text-to-video, so text-to-GTA is the next logical step in generative AI." Musk concurred. "You won't even have to ask. AI will figure what video game you'd like best," he said on Twitter. Fast forward to an on-stage conversation with Zelnick at the Semafor World Economy Conference on April 16, and he responds by stating that if this technology were going to replace anyone's job, it'd be Musk's. "[Musk] has unlimited financial resources, and he has unlimited human resources, and he has - apparently - an unlimited number of ideas," Zelnick says, his full comments viewable in the above video from 32:14. "He also knows his way around AI. He also works 20 hours a day. If AI were to take anyone's job, wouldn't it take his job?" If this tech can subsume labour so easily, Zelnick muses, then why isn't it freeing up people who're working long hours? "Like the richest guy on Earth, wouldn't that be job number one for AI to take? Why is he so busy?" Zelnick adds. "And by the way, why am I working harder than ever despite the fact that I've totally accepted AI into every part of my life?" The simple answer here is that AI can help create useful tools in certain instances, but it isn't actually revolutionizing anything. It's certainly not replacing or even streamlining the intense amount of work needed to put together a game like Grand Theft Auto 6. Zelnick and the host then joke about whether Musk is even real, an internal discussion I have every time I see him in headlines. "Maybe Elon Musk is indeed a simulation, it's possible," they ponder. "I mean in fairness, if you were gonna choose a person who were a simulation, he would be my number one choice."

Elon Musk Says AI Could Make GTA 6 'In Minutes' -- Take-Two CEO Fires Back - Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TT

Elon Musk Agrees GTA 6 Could Be Made 'In Minutes' With AI -- Take‑Two CEO Fires Back: 'Wouldn't It Take His Job?' * What's next for TTWO stock? Musk Says AI Quicker For Video Games Along with disrupting several sectors with AI and the creation of xAI, billionaire Elon Musk has set his sights on making video games faster using artificial intelligence. That notion turned into a comment Musk agreed with on a social media post, saying that anyone could make their own GTA 6 "in a few minutes," speeding up the process of the game from Take-Two, which has taken years to make. Those comments made earlier this year haven't been lost on the mind of Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. Speaking at the Semafor World Economy 2026 recently, Zelnick clapped back at Musk and the use cases for AI, as reported by IGN. "If AI were going to get rid of employment, the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, knows a little something about AI, the last time I checked," Zelnick said. "He has unlimited financial resources, and he has unlimited human resources." Zelnick said Musk knows his way around AI, but might not be thinking of what the easiest use case would be. "The man works 20 hours a day. If AI were going to take anyone's job, wouldn't it take his job? The richest guy on Earth, wouldn't that be job number one for AI to take? Why is he so busy?" The Take-Two CEO also questioned why Musk is currently working so hard, despite the fact that he is using AI in "every part" of his life. The new comments from Zelnick follow a response in March to Musk's tweet. "These tools may help you create assets, but that won't help you create hits," Zelnick said at the time, calling Musk's tweet "laughable." Musk Vs. GTA 6 Musk is a known video gamer and has shared his love for titles in the past. The Grand Theft Auto franchise is among the games Musk doesn't play. The billionaire previously said he tried to get into the game, but couldn't justify part of the plot. "Tried, but didn't like doing crime. GTA5 required shooting police officers in the opening scene. Just couldn't do it," Musk previously tweeted. GTA 6 is currently set to be released on Nov. 19, 2026, after several delays. The game is expected to be one of the biggest video game launches of all time. While AI could make full video games in the future, it is currently being used to complement game makers on key elements and not to create full big-scale titles, something that could always change in the future. Photo: miss.cabul va Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

The Elon Musk vs GTA VI controversy explained

A lot of people are hyped for the release of Grand Theft Auto VI in November, but not Elon Musk. After around eight years of development, GTA VI is widely expected to be the biggest game of all time, but the CEO of Tesla reckons AI could generate it "in a few seconds", perhaps before it comes out in seven months' time. The CEO of Take-Two Interactive, knowing something about video games, says otherwise. He reckons that if AI could make GTA VI, it could also make Elon Musk obsolete. The story began back in January in a series of exchanges on X. Elon, who's been dubbed a "fake gamer" for allegedly using shared accounts to achieve high rankings in games like Path of Exile 2 and Diablo IV, agreed that there was a chance that "AI will let anyone generate their own GTA 6 in a few minutes, before GTA 6". Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney also chimed in, presumably in jest, suggesting that "text-to-GTA" was the next logical step for AI after "text-to-image and text-to-video". Elon doubled down, saying a text prompt wouldn't even be necessary. "AI will figure what video game you'd like best." Elon's concept of timescales can sometimes be dubious. In late 2025, he claimed xAI would release a "great AI-generated video game" by the end of 2026. We've not seen any sign of it yet, but then Elon also claimed Tesla would have a fleet of a million fully autonomous robotaxis by 2020 and that the Cybertruck would be a boat. Strauss Zelnick, the head of GTA developer Rockstar's parent company, brought the South African billionaire's AI pipedreams back down to Earth during a conversation at the Semafor World Economy 2026. As noticed by @GTAGolden_ on the former Twitter in the post above, Strauss said: "The richest man on earth, Elon Musk, knows a little something about AI last time I checked. He has unlimited financial resources and he has unlimited human resources and he has apparently an unlimited number of ideas. He knows his way around AI. "The man works 20 hours a day. If AI were to take anyone's job, wouldn't it take his job? The richest guy on earth. Wouldn't that be job number one for AI to take? Why is he so busy? And, by the way, why am I working harder than ever despite the fact that I totally accepted AI into every part of my life?" He also went on to speculate that Elon Musk could be a simulation. You can see the full panel discussion below. There's been no lack of GTA-inspired AI content posted online in the build up to the GTA VI release, but crucially they are not games; they are short videos. Strauss has previously stressed that Rockstar is not using generative AI to make GTA VI. In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz published in February, he said: "Do I think [AI] tools by themselves create great entertainment products? No, there's no evidence that that's the case, and it won't be the case in the future. Specifically in regard to GTA VI, Generative AI has zero part in what Rockstar Games is building. "Their worlds are handcrafted. That's what differentiates them. They're built from the ground up, building by building, street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood. They're not procedurally generated; they shouldn't be. That's what makes great entertainment." It's not the first time Elon has criticised GTA as a franchise. He once claimed to have stopped playing GTA V because he couldn't bring himself to kill a cop. Some have suggested that there's an element of classic sour grapes at work and that Elon hasn't forgiven Rockstar for launching the GTA VI trailer on YouTube instead of on his platform, X. What do you think? Would AI be able to do a better job than Elon Musk has done at X and Tesla? Creative Bloq is now easier to access than ever before with our on-the-go app, which brings you all the content you know and love from our website, but in a super-streamlined design. Download the Creative Bloq app for iOS Download the Creative Bloq app for Android (

Can AI Build GTA 6 in Minutes? Take-Two CEO Hits Back at Elon Musk's Bold Claim

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick challenges Elon Musk-backed claims that AI could generate GTA 6 in minutes, arguing that complex game development still relies on human creativity despite rapid advances in artificial intelligence tools A social media exchange between Elon Musk and Guillermo Rauch has triggered fresh debate over the role of artificial intelligence in large-scale game development. Rauch suggested that there is a 'non-zero chance' AI could allow users to 'generate your own GTA 6 in a few minutes.' Musk endorsed the view with a brief response, amplifying speculation around AI's disruptive potential in gaming. The claim, however, has drawn skepticism from industry leadership.

'The Richest Guy on Earth, Wouldn't That Be Job Number 1 for AI to Take?' -- Take-Two CEO Jabs Elon Musk After Tesla Boss Suggested Artificial Intelligence Can Make GTA 6

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has suggested that Elon Musk might want to watch out for artificial intelligence taking his job after the Tesla boss proposed that Grand Theft Auto 6 could be generated by AI. The gaming bigwig, who oversees major subsidiaries within Take-Two like 2K and Rockstar Games, shared his insight into the rapid advancements in technology during a conversation at Semafor World Economy 2026. It was a quick conversation that touched on a number of topics, but it was the issue of AI that probably received the most attention. After saying he feels "people spend too much time talking about the 'woe is me' risk" related to the tech despite the fact that it "can be used for evil purposes," Zelnick brought up Musk and his relationship to AI, unprompted. While Zelnick is optimistic about how AI can be used as a tool for the average worker, he isn't so sure the billionaire X/Twitter owner's job is quite as safe. "If AI were going to get rid of employment, the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, knows a little something about AI, last time I checked," the Take-Two head said. "He has unlimited financial resources, and he has unlimited human resources, and he has, apparently, an unlimited number of ideas. He knows his way around AI. "The man works 20 hours a day. If AI were going to take anyone's job, wouldn't it take his job? The richest guy on Earth, wouldn't that be job number one for AI to take? Why is he so busy? By the way, why am I working harder than ever despite the fact that I've totally accepted AI into every part of my life?" Zelnick's comments follow an exchange that happened on Musk's social media platform earlier this year, where he said, "yeah," in response to a post that said, "there is definitely a non-zero chance we get 'generate your own GTA 6 in a few minutes' before GTA 6." Rockstar's latest Grand Theft Auto game, which has been in development for around six years and is poised to be one of the biggest video game launches ever, is currently set with a release date of November 19, 2026. Zelnick previously offered a more indirect response to Musk in March, saying at the time that the idea AI could generate quality video games "laughable." He added at the time, "These tools may help you create assets, but that won't help you create hits." Zelnick's thoughts on Musk and his relationship with AI came to an end with a joke about how the Tesla billionaire could be "a simulation." As the audience laughed, he said, "In fairness, if you were going to choose a person who were a simulation, he would be my number one choice." GTA 6 is currently expected to launch later this year. While we wait, you can read about the fake Grand Theft Auto leaks that started gaining traction on social media late last year.

Elon Musk claims AI could soon make games like GTA 6 in minutes, Take Two CEO responds

Earlier this year, a social media banter between Elon Musk and AI Tech CEO Guillermo Rauch went viral. The two tech leaders agreed that GTA 6 could be made in minutes thanks to AI. In other words, they claimed that before Rockstar Games releases the long-awaited game, the deed can be carried out by AI. 'There's definitely a non-zero chance we get "generate your own GTA6 in a few minutes" before GTA6,' said Rauch and Musk commented 'Yeah' on his post. And now, Take Two CEO has reportedly responded to this claim while speaking at Semafor World Economy 2026. Also read: Assassins Creed Black Flag trailer revealed before Ubisoft showcase: All details According to a report in IGN, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Rockstar Games' parent company Take Two, has now responded to Musk. He said that if AI were to take anybody's job it would be Musk's as he is the "richest man on earth with unlimited wealth." Zelnick was quoted saying by IGN, "If AI were going to get rid of employment, the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, knows a little something about AI, last time I checked. He has unlimited financial resources, and he has unlimited human resources, and he has, apparently, an unlimited number of ideas. He knows his way around AI." He added, "The man works 20 hours a day. If AI were going to take anyone's job, wouldn't it take his job? The richest guy on Earth, wouldn't that be job number one for AI to take? Why is he so busy?" This wasn't the first time that Musk was seen talking about GTA games. From saying that GTA 5 is "too violent" to claiming that he won't play GTA 6 even when it launches, the Tesla boss has made headlines time and again. For instance, in December 2023, Musk wrote on X, "Tried, but didn't like doing crime. GTA5 required shooting police officers in the opening scene. Just couldn't do it." The post has 18.1M views to date and some comments from passionate GTA fans.