Take-Two: No plans to annualize Grand Theft Auto

Despite the extreme sales success of Grand Theft Auto 5, publishing giant Take-Two has no plans to annualize the open-world sandbox adventure from Rockstar Games. Speaking to MCV, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick reaffirmed the company's stance of not releasing a new GTA game every year, or every other year, as it would "degrade" the franchise.

“It is great that consumers anticipate our titles, like they anticipate the next James Bond film. Our goal is to create permanent franchises,” Zelnick said.

Grand Theft Auto 5 released back in September of last year. It became the fastest-selling entertainment release in history, grossing over $800 million in retail sales during the first 24 hours after launch and over $1 billion in only three days. With sales like that, you'd think a publisher would wan't to follow-up with a sequel. But thanks the smart decision of incorporating a free online multiplayer mode in GTA 5, Take-Two doesn't see the need for annualization.

“A few years ago, we’d launch a title, it would be sold physically, then we would sell catalog versions of it. Today we launch a title, and often – if not always – put out DLC. We’ve talked about recurrent consumer spending, where we have offerings where fans can engage and spend money on an on-going basis.

“With GTA 5, we have sold 32.5m units in to date, which is extraordinary. 70 percent of people that have played GTA 5 while online have played GTA Online, which is a free-to-play experience. And recurrent consumer spending related to GTA Online represented nearly half of our digitally delivered revenue in the quarter. So people are voting that they want to stay engaged and they are voting with their wallets," Zelnick concluded.

Would you prefer to see Rockstar develop another Grand Theft Auto game or continue to create content for GTA Online?