Take-Two’s CEO Pours Cold Water on $100 GTA VI Price Tag as Earnings Date Looms

Strauss Zelnick promises GTA VI will be priced 'very reasonably' amid $2B development costs, as Take-Two gears up for a record fiscal 2027 driven by the blockbuster launch.

Strauss Zelnick has a message for gamers who feared they’d need to break the bank for Grand Theft Auto VI: relax. The Take-Two Interactive chief executive used his appearance at the iicon conference in Las Vegas this week to shoot down speculation that the blockbuster title would carry a triple-digit price tag. The industry chatter had floated a $100 base price, but Zelnick countered that the company would charge “way, way, way less” than the value the game delivers to players, promising a price that feels “very reasonable” for the global fan base.

The pricing clarity arrives as Take-Two gears up for its fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 earnings release on May 21. Analysts are bracing for a sharp earnings drop — consensus estimates peg GAAP earnings per share at $0.20 for the quarter, down from $0.73 a year earlier. The decline looks alarming on paper, but the numbers are distorted by non-cash charges tied to the Zynga acquisition amortization, capitalized development costs for GTA VI, and internal profit-sharing with Rockstar staff. The roughly $2 billion development budget has already been spent, and those costs will shift from the balance sheet to the income statement once the game hits shelves.

The market’s attention is fixed squarely on the November 2026 launch window for GTA VI, which is expected to drive record bookings in fiscal 2027. Jefferies reaffirmed its buy rating on April 28, joining a Wall Street consensus that remains overwhelmingly bullish — 26 of 28 analysts rate the stock a buy, with an average price target of $277 and a high of $305. A separate survey puts the consensus target at $284.31, with the stock currently trading around €183.30 on a euro basis, roughly 8% below its 200-day moving average.

The third quarter of fiscal 2026 provided a solid foundation for the bullish thesis. GAAP net revenue climbed 25% to $1.70 billion, while non-GAAP EBITDA doubled to $174.8 million. Management used that momentum to lift full-year guidance, projecting net bookings of $6.65 billion to $6.70 billion — growth of roughly 18%. NBA 2K is up 37%, the mobile segment has advanced 13%, and recurring revenue is expected to account for 78% of total bookings.

Institutional positioning tells a more complicated story. In the most recent quarter, 528 investors added to their stakes while 448 trimmed positions. BlackRock bought roughly 1.1 million shares, and AQR Capital nearly tripled its holding. On the flip side, the Public Investment Fund exited its entire position of roughly 11.4 million shares, while UBS Asset Management sold more than 80% of its stake. The Teachers Retirement System of Kentucky slashed its holding by 85.2% to about 12,800 shares, according to an April 28 filing. Despite the churn, institutional investors still collectively own around 95% of outstanding shares.

Zelnick also offered glimpses into the broader intellectual property strategy during the conference. He hinted that older franchises like L.A. Noire are under internal review, though he declined to name specific projects. He also reaffirmed support for Nintendo platforms, a notable commitment given the technical demands of modern titles and the integration of the Nintendo Switch 2.

The stock has shed roughly 15% year-to-date on a euro basis and sits at €183, still trailing its 200-day average. With the May 21 earnings update approaching, the market will be looking for confirmation on the GTA VI release timeline and fiscal 2027 bookings guidance — the two variables that will ultimately determine whether the current valuation holds up or cracks under the weight of anticipation.