- Take-Two CEO says Rockstar is taking AI-powered GTA 6 piracy and reverse-engineering threats seriously.
- Zelnick told IGN that Take-Two will "vigilantly" protect its IP and Rockstar's intended experience.
- However, he believes most players want GTA 6 as Rockstar intended, despite the growing threat of AI-powered piracy.
Over the past few months, hackers have increasingly used AI to reverse-engineer and clone games for unofficial platforms through jailbreaks and emulators. As the GTA 6 countdown to November 19, 2026, winds down, AI-powered threats are becoming a growing concern, but Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says the company is taking them seriously.
Speaking to IGN in a phone interview on November 9, ahead of Take-Two’s Q2 FY2027 earnings call, CEO Strauss Zelnick said both Rockstar and Take-Two are “focused on these concerns” when asked about hackers potentially bringing GTA 6 to PC and other unofficial platforms by reverse engineering the game beyond its planned PS5 and Xbox Series X|S release.
According to Zelnick, the AI-powered threats aren’t a “financial matter, in terms of a threat to our business,” but more of a “creative” one . “It’s important to everyone, our developers and our consumers alike, to deliver the experience Rockstar envisions. And at the same time, of course, we protect our intellectual property vigilantly,” said the Take-Two CEO.
So we are focused on these concerns. We’re not in the least cavalier about them. Technology is advancing quickly. And at the same time, I do think that pretty much everyone wants the Rockstar experience as Rockstar intended.
Zelnick also weighed in on Anthropic’s recent decision to restrict Claude from reverse-engineering video games, saying, “All companies should be protecting intellectual property, their own and everyone else’s.”
Sony, which has partnered with Rockstar to promote the upcoming open-world game, rolled out a PS5 firmware update ahead of GTA 6’s release earlier in November. Players speculated that Sony pushed the update to counter PS5 jailbreaks, which had advanced rapidly in recent weeks.
With GTA 6 preloads now underway, concerns over piracy and unofficial releases are growing. Hackers could use AI to reverse-engineer GTA 6 and distribute unofficial versions through jailbroken consoles or PC builds, potentially leaking game content before launch.
However, rest assured, Take-Two is keeping a close watch on GTA 6’s launch and won’t hesitate to take legal and technical measures to stop AI-powered piracy.
