Take-Two Interactive says it is stepping up both its technical defenses and its legal efforts as AI-assisted game cloning and reverse-engineering draw fresh attention ahead of Grand Theft Auto 6’s launch. CEO Strauss Zelnick said the publisher is “utterly focused” on protecting Rockstar’s work and does not treat the issue lightly.
The comments came during an investor-focused Q&A after Take-Two’s latest financial report, where IGN pressed Zelnick on the possibility that AI tools could help people recreate games or push unofficial versions of GTA 6 onto PC and other platforms. Zelnick said he does not view the issue as a direct financial threat, but as a creative and intellectual-property problem that matters to the company, its developers and its players.
The interview sits against a wave of attention around AI-generated game clones and ports. IGN noted that people have been using AI to build copies of popular games and release them on platforms they would not normally run on, with examples ranging from Minecraft playable inside X/Twitter to modders crashing Minecraft and Elden Ring together. Last month, Rockstar’s own Grand Theft Auto 5 was made playable in a browser before it was pulled offline.
Anthropic also updated Claude to make it harder for users to generate video game clones, which added to the discussion. At the same time, some observers have raised a different fear: that GTA 6 could appear in unofficial PC form soon after it launches on PlayStation and Xbox. That concern has led to speculation that AI could help decompile or recompile a console game quickly enough to produce a PC port, though the article notes that there is skepticism about how real that threat is.
Zelnick frames the issue as creative and legal, not just financial
Asked how much of a threat AI-assisted cloning is to Take-Two’s business, Zelnick pushed back on the idea that it is mainly about lost revenue. He said the bigger issue is making sure Rockstar’s intended version of the game reaches players intact.
“I don’t think it’s a financial matter, in terms of a threat to our business. I do think it’s a creative matter.”
He said the company protects its intellectual property “vigilantly,” added that Take-Two is “not in the least cavalier” about the concern, and argued that most players want the Rockstar version of GTA 6 as it was designed to be experienced. He also pointed to the speed at which technology is advancing as part of why the company is paying close attention.
“pretty much everyone wants the Rockstar experience as Rockstar intended.”
When IGN asked whether Take-Two would welcome Anthropic’s move to block Claude from reverse engineering video games, Zelnick said all companies should protect intellectual property, including their own and other people’s. He added that it seems ironic for firms in the intellectual-property business to allow their tools to stomp on someone else’s IP while expecting their own to be protected.
The concern is tied in part to talk around Sony’s PlayStation security. The article says Sony has been dealing with hackers who are trying to jailbreak the latest firmware before GTA 6 arrives, and that if a jailbreak becomes available for the firmware required by the game, it could make piracy on PS5 possible and eventually lead to an unofficial PC release. The piece also notes that some people believe GTA 6 may require at least 14.20 or possibly 14.22, although that remains uncertain in the source material.
Take-Two says it is preparing to fight piracy pressure
Zelnick returned to the topic later in the investor Q&A and used stronger language when talking about what the company plans to do. He said Take-Two is preparing both its systems and its legal response, and he described piracy as a challenge the business will have to manage rather than avoid entirely.
“we are utterly focused on enhancing our technical defenses and enhancing our legal activities appropriately.”
He said the video game business has historically been “largely immune” to piracy concerns because of file sizes, the complexity of piracy and the fact that games are connected to servers. Even so, he said that it will become more of a challenge and that some level of piracy is something every entertainment business faces.
“I think it will be manageable and we are focused on it,” Zelnick said. That response suggests Take-Two expects some pressure from AI-assisted reverse engineering, but not a threat it cannot handle.
The article also points to broader PlayStation homebrew activity over the past month. In late September, a jailbreak that supported all PS5 consoles running firmware 7.00-13.60 drew attention because it meant that any PS5, including the PS5 Pro, that had not been updated within the previous week could be compatible. The piece says some PS5 games later required the newer 14.00 firmware to download updates, which pushed the homebrew scene toward another jailbreak attempt for the updated system software.
That is where the Whac-A-Mole comparison comes from: the homebrew scene releases a jailbreak, Sony issues a new firmware update to improve security, and the process starts again. The article says Sony may release further security updates before November 19, while some believe GTA 6 will need at least 14.20 or perhaps 14.22. In that context, Take-Two’s response is aimed at both the technical and legal sides of a problem that could affect how and where Rockstar’s next release appears after launch.
IGN’s reporting also notes that former Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij recently suggested to IGN sister site RPS that Rockstar may want to bring GTA 6 to PC quickly because of the rise of AI-generated clones and ports. That view is part of the wider debate around how much pressure AI tools and console exploits could put on Rockstar’s release plans, especially if an unofficial version appears before the company is ready to publish one.
vigilantly sounds expensive
sounds like a whole legal meta
my ps5 wallet feels that already
yeah, and with GTA stuff they have to. the bigger problem is people ripping the game apart before rockstar even gets to set the tone for pc release.
fair, but I still think the legal side is mostly damage control.
Do you lot think the AI cloning part is the real worry here, or is the PC port speculation doing most of the noise? Seems like the jailbreak angle is what everyone will latch onto.
PC port drama. most of this sounds like forum panic, not real threat.
Forum panic, eh?
Zelnick framing this as a creative issue is the only sane part of the whole thing. If someone clones the vibe, the missions, the pacing, and the world feel, that is not just lost sales – it is a cheap knockoff stealing the identity of the game. The funny part is publishers only remember IP when their own toys are touched. Then suddenly the legal team wakes up and finds the word ‘vigilant’ in a drawer somewhere.
Nah, if they can still sell the real game, it is mostly a revenue issue too. Creative problem, sure, but money is always under the hood.
Sure, money is there, but they are not going to say ‘we are scared of clones stealing launch sales’ on an investor call. You know how these things go.
fair point, but the investor call wording is still doing a lot of work. they want it to sound noble and not just ‘please don’t pirate our shiny thing’.
‘utterly focused’ is a strong line. Rockstar better be too, because GTA 6 on launch with leaks or fake PC builds would be madness.
they always say that kind of thing before launch. means more lawyers, maybe, but it does not magically stop copycats or jailbreaks. if the game is huge enough people will try to clone it no matter what they say on an earnings call. the real test is how fast they react when the first fake build shows up.
yeah true, words alone do nothing. still, i like that they are not acting like it is nothing, because on GTA it never is.
yeah, and gta is one of the few games where fake clips or fake builds can spread for weeks and people still keep arguing about them. i just do not buy the idea that this is some giant new crisis though. publishers have been fighting piracy and mods forever, this one just has more AI buzzwords attached to it.
whac-a-mole but with firmware xD
and every update says ‘security improvements’ like magic words
sony patch, hackers patch, repeat
Not funny when updates brick things
Take-Two is right to tighten legal and technical defenses, but the bigger issue is timing. If GTA 6 lands on consoles first, the longer they wait on PC, the more time the scene has to poke at it and make noise.
the scene pokes at everything, mate. that is basically their cardio
That is true, but this is not just random modding. If a jailbreak lines up with a huge launch window, the pressure is way higher than usual. Still, I agree the internet will try to crack anything just for the bragging rights, even when the actual reward is tiny.
If an unofficial PC version appears fast, that is on the delay strategy more than on AI. The longer they keep one platform waiting, the more the circus starts.
nah, people would still poke it
maybe not stop them fully, but it changes how fast they move. that is all i mean.
Honestly, the legal response matters more than the technical one here. Tech defenses get poked eventually, but a strong legal threat can make the clone crowd think twice.
Most players still want the Rockstar version, not some mangled clone. The audience for a fake port is way smaller than people on X keep acting like.
smaller yes, irrelevant no
Irrelevant maybe for sales, not for headlines. One bad fake build and the whole launch gets noise around it.